


Motel 59

by scarletsptember



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Language, M/M, Multi, Threesome - M/M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-08
Updated: 2012-06-08
Packaged: 2017-11-07 07:11:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 120,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletsptember/pseuds/scarletsptember
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the war Harry moves to Roulle, Louisiana working in a motel and hunting demons. He meets two hunters with a past just as fractured as his own, Sam and Dean Winchester. AU, Slash</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted September 20, 2009. My writing gets better. I promise.

Number 12, 2001

After the defeat of Voldemort there was this need for freedom against all the barriers, all the expectations there were layered on top of him from Dumbledore, Hermione and Ron. It all lead to this one moment, to this decision, stowing his few belongings away in a leather satchel that Sirius had left to him Harry glanced back towards Number Twelve.

Being here wasn't worth reliving Mrs. Weasley's terror over losing her son. It wasn't worth the constant reminders of losing Professor Lupin. It wasn't worth seeing the people who would lurk in Number Twelve but wouldn't speak with him. He lost so much more than what he originally thought. Ron, Hermione, he lost his entire family. The only person who could manage to say anything to him before scrambling away was Neville and that was just a feeble, "Hiya Harry."

A dark chuckle escaped before Harry could stop himself. Neville's attempts were too little too late, he couldn't find it in himself to care anymore. Rubbing a pale hand through his hair and over his scar, a scar that had changed as soon as Voldemort died, Harry sighed. Shaking his head he recalled the looks of horror as his friends and who he considered family watched as he salted and incendioed Voldemort's remains. When Kingsley tried to stop him, he cast an impenetrable shield around both himself and the corpse until nothing but ashes remained.

The hunters had it right. Take no chances for the bastards to return. It didn't matter that the war was over. The only thing that made the Daily Prophet was pictures of him 'desecrating and watching Tom Riddle's body go up in flames'. Ironic, before that he was Voldemort and everyone wanted Harry to kill him.

With a slight wave of his hand Harry shrunk Sirius' bike and headed to his portkey the Ministry set up for him to leave the country. He was being exiled and all the uptight British buggers he saved could take their wands and shove them up their ungrateful arses. He was going to Roulle, Louisiana to start a new life. He might be cleaning up behind people in some no-tell motel but at least this time it was his choice and he could learn what he need to learn to keep doing what this war had trained him to be. A hunter.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roulle, Louisiana 2004

The loud bellowing of his name was how Harry was greeting as he opened the doors to main office of Motel 59 and despite the tone he couldn't help but smile at the woman huddled up behind the counter. She was just as mouse like as Hermione was but her Southern Belle attitude set her miles apart.

He took in Leigh's appearance and her aura as he slung his duffle bag over his shoulder hearing the metal clink together before it muffled from the impact along his back. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was in her motel logo tee shirt and jeans. Her face was paler and a bit more green than usual.

"Leigh, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Is there something you want to tell me, Harry?" She cocked a brow and nodded towards his bag, "Like say where you've been?"

"Nope, I'd rather talk about what's different with you."

"Fine, I can keep my secrets just as well as you can keep yours." She went to typing at the computer and Harry huffed at the action.

"So when are you going to tell me you're pregnant?" He flipped through the schedule they stashed behind the counter nonchalantly as he waited for some kind of reaction out of the woman before he was pelted with the guest sign-in book and he laughed.

"You know what? You can go and clean some rooms or something like you're supposed to." Leigh stood up and gathered up the book before she rearranged it on the counter top. "You know I hate when you leave on your little hunting trips. Thibodeaux makes me clean the rooms when you're gone."

"Right because it's not like he does anything around here at all." Harry snorted.

"He just owns the place." She completed the statement with an eye roll.

"Uh huh. Let me go change right quick and I'll get started. Oh and congratulations Leigh. It really is wonderful news for you." Harry squeezed her shoulder before he started towards the room he rented long-term when she stopped him with a small shout.

"Oh, a guy named Singer called. He said you would know how to get in contact with him."

"Right. I'll call him on my cell while I clean. Do you mind letting Tibby know that I'll probably need to head out soon again."

Leigh scrunched her nose and sighed as Harry's request, "I don't know why he lets you come and go like that. It really isn't fair at all."

"He understands." Harry shrugged as he answered her, trying to go with the least wordy answer as possible. He had learned that lesson a long time ago. The smaller the answer the better it was, especially when you weren't prepared to tell your life story

"Uh huh and another thing, he hates it when I call him Tibby." Leigh tapped her pen against the stack of papers in front of her. "So why does he let you get away with it?"

"Try saying his real name with my accent love. I can't get my mouth around it." Harry chuckled then headed towards his room to lock away his new toys.

He had recently acquired a sawed off shotgun with plenty of rock salt rounds to last the rest of the year and a beauty of an iron machete.

Once Harry had locked everything away nice and safe he grabbed the prepaid cell he used for hunter business and left a message with Bobby Singer, per usual, going over why he was contacting the man again. He was searching for a car with specialized storage that he could use for hunting before he wrapped up the message leaving his contact information and adding in that John Winchester gave him the number a few years ago.

Tossing the phone on the bed Harry tugged off the denim jacket and the V-neck gray tee and checked his handy work from his last hunt. The stitching held up pretty well and from the looks of how his skin was mending he'd be able cut them tonight.

Magic was wonderful, even if he didn't use it much. It always mended his skin and bruises quickly. He pulled on the Motel 59 polo and the sleeves were tight against his arms. He smirked to himself, guess he bulked up a bit since he crossed the pond.

Grabbing the cart from the end of the hall he started at room eight and worked quickly. It was simple and repetitive work so it was easy to complete. Living in Louisiana he had come across his far share of odd things, more than just your trashy guests. He had come across people who were into different types of magic and took severe protective measures everywhere they went. People were odd.

So when he got to room four and he felt the protective wards around the windows and doors it wasn't new. The only new thing was most people kept Do Not Disturb signs out so they could keep their paranoia discreet. Curiosity got the best of him and he couldn't just pass by. Using his key he first noticed the lines of salt on the floor then the windows. Salt wasn't common around here. It was brick dust or maybe a lovely mixture of Goofer dust but salt was a Hunter's tool.

Harry mentally ran the dates because hunters were popular around lunar cycles and they were smack in the middle of one. Tapping the door fully open he took in one empty rumpled bed, one used coffee cup and men's clothing in an open duffle bag. Newspapers were open to articles of mutilations that had started two nights ago and figured this guy had been here a little while. Reaching for the 'Do Not Disturb' sign he placed it on the doorknob and went on cleaning.

He relieved Leigh well before sundown so she'd be safe at home and he heard the growl of a classic muscle car he'd die to get his hands on and that's why he had been playing phone tag with Bobby Singer. The man had cryptically offered to help Harry rebuild a Chevelle of his own. Harry watched the sleek black Impala parked in front of room four and he ground his teeth as a leather jacket clad man got out then stopped and stared at the door. It was almost as if he knew something was wrong.

Harry waited a grand total of five minutes before the guy burst into the office and he finally got a good look at him. He definitely was a hunter. He held himself with an air of confidence and a cockiness that you only find in a few businesses and hunting was one of them. But there was something underneath it all that Harry knew all too well. There was weariness underneath it all. The man had light green eyes and was tan beneath his leather jacket that was probably used to conceal a weapon more than anything in this heat. His jeans though, they made Harry want to step between the guys legs and really show him what a good time was.

"Uh, who cleaned today?" His voice was rough and calloused, just like his hands.

"Missing something?" Harry looked up, his fringe pushed back revealing his scar. A snaked entwined around the lightning bolt.

"Dude, you go crazy and give yourself a tat?"

Anger flooded Harry's veins and the lights flickered throughout the office from the guy's offhanded comment. They both looked up at the light fixture before fixing each other with a curious look and Harry finally answered him, "No is something missing?"

"Not, really," He looked like he was searching for something to say, to explain what was really going on but he couldn't quite figure out how to go about doing so.

"I cleaned today," Harry interrupted when he saw the struggle in the man's eyes. "You should remember that 'Do Not Disturb' signs are meant for more than not disturbing the occupants in the room. It's so I won't go in your room and see what you've got in there." Harry leaned over the counter to get a read on the man's aura and he got flashes of a tall, shaggy haired man calling out for a Dean; a severe darkness surrounding the both of them. Heaving a breathe Harry continued, "Look, just don't be stupid."

The clipped tone was enough to send the hunter walking but Harry stopped him. Hero complex be damned. "Are you Dean?" He watched as tension flooded his shoulders and back. A hand pressed against the glass door. "Who ever Sam is, he needs you. Dark times are coming and you need each other."

"Right."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roulle, Louisiana 2006

It took a year and seventy-three shot glasses of holy water from Bobby Singer before Harry finally had his car. A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, it was black with enough compartments in the trunk and the interior Harry could probably loose a few handguns or boxes of ammo in there and not know it. Bobby had claimed it a beauty, but Harry had to get it repainted and fixed the leather seats and then she was beautiful.

Pulling into work he headed straight for the cart and started to clean. Outside of room number four things started getting weird again. He could feel more intricate protection wards then before but again there wasn't a 'Do Not Disturb' sign in sight. He spotted the salt lines in the window before he opened the door but as soon as the door opened images assaulted his mind. Brothers fighting over which bar to go to the night before, how to draw a certain symbol, and where to store the weapons. That's when he realized this was the same Dean from two years ago and the added shaggy haired companion had to be Sam. He filched Dean's machete from underneath the pillow and smirked to himself. This was going to be fun.

He hurried to relieve Leigh from front counter duties for the night so she could get to baby Anna. Harry smiled at the picture he had tacked up on the wall of Leigh, Anna, Thibodeaux and himself. Hearing the growl of the Impala he waited a few moments until the glass from the door he cleaned of fingerprints an hour ago slammed into the wall. The hunters flew in as if hellhounds were nipping at their heels.

"Who cleaned today?" Dean barked.

"Dean calm down."

"Fuck calm Sammy!" The way the tall guy, Sammy, ground his teeth, closed his eyes and took a deep breath made Harry hide a smile.

"I distinctly remember telling you last time not to be stupid." Harry met furious eyes.

"What last time?" Sam asked, pulling his khaki jacket tighter. Harry eyed the jacket, in this humidity jackets were used to hide weapons.

"Ah, you don't remember me do you Dean?" Harry stood and Thibodeaux came from the back. Bald headed, biker built and pajama clad.

"Take hunter business out to the parking lot." Thibodeaux barked out. Dean and Sam's eyes shot towards Thibodeaux in surprise. "Oh I'm sorry, let me speak in code. Harry, take your friends and fight outside. Is that better?" He folded his hands in an 'I'm sorry' gesture then held the door open for them to walk through.

"So," Sam said interrupting the silence and the staring contest going on between Dean and Harry. As soon as the silence broke Dean attacked, he moved fast an efficiently. Jabs and punches landed and were dodged as Sam backed away and watched in fascination. Harry gave a good kick to Dean's knee and had him pinned face down in the gravel. Harry was straddling Dean's waist holding his hands tight to his side against the ground.

"Now, you'll get your machete back but you need to learn to put do not disturb signs up. The two of you together left more information out about demons and spirits than any sane person ever needs to see. And it was more than you did the first time."

"Okay, when was this first time." Sam asked and Harry couldn't hold back the laughter that overtook him. Dean shifted his head so he looked at Harry.

"Makes it sound like sex." Harry said between laughter as he noticed a slight blush on Dean's face and he looked back at Sam to explain.

"It kind of looks like it too." Sam pointed out, making Harry blush and Sam snickered. Harry couldn't deny it both of the hunters were sex on legs and wouldn't mind getting naked with them but he'd keep that a secret for now.

"Sammy! Not helping." Dean yelled against the gravel.

"Going to kill me if I let you up?" Harry taunted.

"I want to, but no." Harry shifted then let Dean up to get a right hook to the jaw.

"Bugger," He popped his jaw in and out of place relieving pressure. He looked both men up and down. "Right, so Winchesters? I kind of thought you'd be smarter."


	2. Chapter 2

Harry had a shield up as soon as the insult slipped and a trigger happy Dean and insults didn't seem like a good combination. The chambering of a round was sobering. He could take angry spirits and vicious demons but this was different. He could feel the magic rising beneath his skin and running hot through his veins. The temptation to lash out was almost as difficult as it was normal for him to breathe.

"Dean, calm down." He heard Sam as if he was in the distance, he turned and saw the fear he put on their faces.

"Your dad was scared of me too."

"You knew our dad?" Dean lowered his weapon an inch, and it was enough intention that Harry latched onto it and summoned the gun.

"A couple years before he died, yes I knew your father." Harry unloaded the weapon and checked the chamber then handed it empty to Dean. "You'll get the bullets back."

"But you're what, eighteen?" Sam interjected.

"Twenty four, about to be twenty five. Everyone said it was a good thing being so small. I'd have to disagree when I'm five seven and every other short guy towers over me." Harry's prepaid rang and gestured for a moment.

"Potter."

"Gotta job for ya Potter. Need you up here, got some of those demons I can't exorcise, but maybe you can work your mojo on them." Bobby Singer's gruff voice carried through the phone.

"They wield magic?"

"Yeah kid, got six of them in the trap room we made the last time you were up here."

"Good, you mark the doors with those runes?"

"I'm not an idjit. Run into any Winchesters?"

"Fuck you Bobby." Bobby laughed. "Thought they were supposed to be smart."

"You tell them that?"

"Yes I did. You know me, dying to get shot or sliced to pieces." Sarcasm laid heavy in his voice. "Pulled a gun on me. Want to talk to them, I'd recommend Sam, Dean's a little angry right now." Harry handed the phone to Sam and stepped away in surrender and listened to Sam's one-sided conversation.

"Bobby. Want us to follow him up to you? You trust him?" Harry shook his head no, answering that question himself. The Winchester's probably didn't down a shot glass of holy water every time they saw Bobby and if they did that would shock Harry to the point of heart attack. They way he talked about them was like blood. It was the way he used to talk about Ron and Hermione. The way that he would do anything to make sure they were safe and had a place to sleep and food to eat. Suppose the sense of family in a hunter's circle ran deeper than in war times. They saw death from an early time, just like he had, but they sought it out to eliminate what caused their pain so others wouldn't experience it. They endured what others wouldn't and couldn't imagine so people could lead happy white picket fence lives and ignore the creatures in the dark. Harry never got that, and after he defeated the monster under the bed he was exiled, and the people he loved enough to kill for didn't owl him.

"Dude, who just ran over your dog?" Dean asked from where he was leaning next to Sam as he blabbered on to Bobby.

"The monster under the bed. Get your machete, and your bags. We need to leave soon. Bobby's room isn't going to hold for long. Not with six demons in it."

"Six?"

"Yeah, and I don't stop but for gas, and that's the pee break so if you gotta go you better figure out how to catch up cause I don't drive slow, and there isn't any sleeping when we get to the room. We get there, Bobby and I work, and you stay out of the way, and then when we are finished cleaning up you can sleep. I expect you to explain that to Sam." Harry turned to get his bag and lock up his room. He threw the duffle in the passenger seat and walked around to lean on the front bumper and waited for Sam to finish up with Bobby. He watched Sam hang up and reach into his pocket for a flask, then fling the water onto him and he glared as he wiped his glasses clean with his shirt. "You could have just asked me to drink it or I would have put my hand out. You think I was lying about the seventy-three shot glasses? No. He may think I'm a funny bloke and I may be smart, but he doesn't trust me. Not even a tiny bit compared to you two. Ready to head out?"

"In a minute." Harry watched as Sam jogged across the gravel after Dean and into the room, he settled himself in his car and cranked her up. The rumble of the V8 engine was a comfort to him, it was the only thing he could say he actually owned and if need be he could call it home. No one could take it away from him. A knock on the window pulled him out of his thoughts; it was Sam brushing his hair away from his eyes. "So, that prepaid isn't your real cell, can we snag that number incase we lose you."

"Doubt you will." Harry leaned over to the glove box and grabbed a notebook and penned the number out for Sam and three letters and numbers underneath. "License plate if you need to stop and catch up." Harry clarified.

"Okay." Harry nodded then tuned on his music and Sam stumbled. " You like Zeppelin?"

"Amongst the normal stuff, but yes. Ready to go now." Harry griped the steering wheel and watched Sam fold himself into the Impala and pulled out and headed towards South Dakota, wondering what it would be like to be a fly on the wall of that Impala.

"Got his number?" Dean asked as they pulled out behind Harry.

"And license plate." Dean looked over towards Sam. "Said incase we need to stop and catch up." Sam shrugged.

"So what did you and Bobby talk about?"

"He's different Dean."

"What do you mean Sammy?"

"Bobby said after he started letting Harry stay over while rebuilding the Chevelle and researching how to kill these demons, he gets flashbacks and night terrors."

"Meaning?"

"Bobby thinks he was in a war. Says it reminds him of Dad, but probably a hundred times worse. He let it slip his parents died when he was one, one night. Another night Bobby found him crouched in a corner in his sleep. Thinks the he went through hell almost all his life Dean. That's why he picked up hunting so fast."

"When'd he start?"

"First salt and burn when he was seventeen. You know who he trained with off and on when he passed through?"

"Dad."

"Yeah."

"Figured." Dean felt the look Sam gave him and finished the thought. "He was different one time after he got back from a Loup Garou hunt. Apparently there was a kid; I think it was when you were in college, and year or two before he disappeared. I can't remember really. Anyways, there was this kid, and he said something about thinking the kid was dead or was about to be a goner so he was prepared to bury him, but was his tactic."

"And that was?"

"Basically offer himself up on a platter, and Dad said he used some weird ritual that killed the Loup Garou."

"It wasn't a ritual Dean."

"What do you mean?"

"It was magic, blood magic. Harry had to use his own blood before the magic would interact. Bobby told me Harry is a wizard." The Impala served from the force of the breaks. "What did you think that shield thing was he did earlier? And you didn't just drop your gun. You cherish that thing." Sam watched as the Chevelle's taillights started to fade. "He's not slowing, so he's going to keep going, so we either wait and see if he's good or bad by chancing Bobby's life or catch up with him."

"Seventy-three shots Sammy. Seventy-three shots." Dean muttered. "That's not trust. How many have you had?"

"Three."

"I've had seven. That's not trust, that's okay, you're not going to kill me today." Dean pressed the gas pedal harder and the taillights of the Chevelle brightened as they closed in on distance.

"He slept in the room with the devil's trap."

"Well hoo-fucking-ray Sammy."

"So what did he say to you while I was on the phone."

"Basically, no stopping but for gas. Don't get in his or Bobby's way, there won't be any sleeping until after clean up. Oh and the monster under the bed killed his puppy." Dean rolled his eyes.

"He expects us to sit back and watch him and Bobby exorcise six demons?"

"Apparently."

"Huh."

"My reaction exactly. So get some sleep, cause you aren't getting any later, and by the way he said clean up that means graves and bodies."

"Great." Sam rolled his jacket to use as a pillow and lulled into a doze the pothole filled road and AC/DC provided.

Pulling over after six hours of driving into a gas station was a nice break. Letting all the kinks stretch out Harry rolled back against the hood of his car as it was fueling and felt and heard his back crack and the Impala pulled up next to him and Dean shook his head in disbelief. "Feels good, Sam knows what I'm talking about." Harry motioned with his head as Sam twisted and turned and stretched out. After the Chevelle was full Harry went inside to use the bathroom and to grab a liter of Mountain Dew, pretzels, then gummi worms. Dean set his junk food next to him and snorted.

"You're kidding me."

"I take it Sam's the fan, and it's not you?" Harry pointed to the same package of gummi worms Dean had snagged.

"You're both girls."

"Right." Harry smiled after he paid and sat in the Chevelle for a moment then got out to talk to Sam. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I take it from the swerve you know what I am?"

"A wizard."

"It's not the same as a Wiccan though, completely different. You'll see, but take a turn driving at some point so he gets some sleep, yeah? He'll bitch but you'll both thank me. We've got eighteen more hours. I can probably get seven hours before the next fill up if we hit the interstate. What about the Impala?"

"She'll make it. You could probably make eight." Dean interrupted.

"Not on the interstate, drive too fast and brake too often." Harry shook his head and got back in the Chevelle and cranked up with a purr and pulled out the gas station and with a few quick turns onto the interstate they went. Once outside of the Deep South the roads got smoother and quieter, so Harry turned the music louder and cracked a window down so the air brushed against his face. If he got tired he could take pepper up but the exorcism worked better if he saved any magic or potion use until then. The day and hours passed by in a whirl of fields and cars. On the last leg of the trip they stopped in a town with a twenty-four hour diner.

"We need to eat." Harry said as he fueled up. "Real food." He added before either brother could interrupt. "Mayes, has great pie." He added as an after thought when he recapped the fuel tank to see Dean and Sam staring at him. "What? I go there whenever I see Bobby."

The diner was empty as Harry suspect it would be, seeing as it was ten o'clock on a Monday night. "Harry, you're back. Been awhile." Lucy, flaming hair and skinny as a twig greeted him as they walked in. "Brought friends I see."

"Luce, this is Dean and the Jolly Green Giant over there is Sam."

"Good to meet you gentlemen. Take your pick and give a shout whenever you're ready."

"Sure thing." Harry led them to the usual booth that was against a wall they could all sit comfortably and watch the door and out side. "Everything is good here." Harry waited until they decided. "Luce, I believe we're ready."

"Well, what did you boys decide on? And Harry please say it's not the usual?" She pouted and he gave a smile.

"Sorry to disappoint. The usual with whatever pie." Lucy turned towards Sam and Dean, healthy versus heart attack on a plate but both with pie. "Okay, so the place we're going is a room made of salted iron, kind of like his panic room. But it has the strength of my magical wards. It'll feel weird to both of you but Bobby got used to it quickly so it should be fine. You stay outside of the copal lines, and you'll be fine. This is dangerous for anyone who interferes and if you step of the lines you are willingly giving your life force over to me. Do you understand what that means?" Harry asked as Lucy sat their food down and gave her a smile. "It means Bobby acts as my focus and he's safe but my mind is intent on one thing and if it feels power which both of you have enormous amounts of it will take. The copal will protect you. Don't step over those boundaries. I might be able to knock you back or you might be part of the clean up. Bobby wants you there for a reason, I don't know why, but I trust him." Harry dug into his food and waited for the questions to start but none came.

"So Harry, Joe's been asking about you." Dean spit his food across the table. Lucy just rolled her eyes.

"He can keep asking, like he's been doing since the first time I showed up in here. I'm not interested." Harry bit into the peach pie to hide a frown.

"Figured that. I mean why else would you always be visiting that fella up in South Dakota?" This time it was Sam spitting his food across the table, and Harry wiped the spittle off his arm, Dean nudged his elbow and grinned enjoying Harry's torment.

"I don't date older men Luce, okay some older men. But the guy is South Dakota, is about twenty-five years older then I am. I don't have a sugar daddy.

"So you are dating though?"

"No."

"Are you single?" Harry placed his fork calmly on the table then looked at Sam and winked.

"No Luce, you see these two lovely men right here." He wrapped an arm around Dean and a leg between Sam's. "Are all the men I can handle. See Dean here thinks my accent is sexy, and loves hearing naughty things. And Sam," Harry wriggled his brows "Oh Sam, the things he can do with those hands." Sam immediately looked at his hands and placed them in his lap.

"Oh my. Well Harry. Man." She blew her bangs from her face. "Lucky." She placed the bill on the table and Dean scrambled away from Harry and Sam stayed stock-still.

"Dude, I do not like to hear naughty things."

"But you think his accent is sexy?" Sam asked with a slight flush to his neck and Dean threw his hands in the air and headed for the bathroom. Harry scooted back to give Sam room.

"Sorry about that. She just always gets on my case for being here by myself and maybe now Joe will leave me alone." Harry pulled out a wad of cash and went to pay for them all and Lucy smiled. If he could have one of them he'd be lucky. But he had a feeling lady luck wasn't going to be on his side. She never was anymore.

"So which one do you really want?" Lucy asked as she counted his change.

"What?"

"Well I mean, either way," she fanned herself. "But I see the way you look at the shorter one, Dean." Then she frowned. "But you look that way at Sam too. Can I have Sam?" She tapped the counter with her nails, "Always watching but never acting, you could have either of them, you know?"

"Right." Harry pocketed the coin change and left her the bills as a tip. "Have a wonderful morning Lucy. I'm going to head the bathroom real quick."

"I'll have your coffee ready, and I'll get them one too."

"If you were my type I'd be head over heels my love."

"Bet you say that to all the pretty ones."

With piping hot coffee in hand Harry scooted into the Chevelle and pulled back onto the interstate five more hours until hell. He watched as Sam drove the last leg so Dean could sleep and was thankful because if Dean was exhausted the demons would get to him and it was hard enough listening to them taunt himself but the possibility of Dean or Sam giving in to the demons. Harry didn't think he could handle it. Harry shuddered as he saw the bunker he and Bobby perfected a month ago. They started working on it when demons who could use magic started showing up and until they could figure out how to get rid of them, they kept them there. The key to getting rid of the suckers helped build the bunker and had to be born with magic them selves. Harry parked next to Bobby's ratty car and leaned against his car and waited for Bobby to come out. Dean and Sam leaned against the Impala.

Bobby came out with a shotgun perched aimed at them. "Hey Bobby. Where's number seventy-four?" Bobby grinned at Harry then tossed him a flask then the same with Sam and Dean.

"No chances boys." Harry tossed a plastic bottle labeled holy water to Bobby and he took a swig himself and smacked his lips. "You ready?" Harry nodded. "Told them the rules?" Harry nodded again. Bobby rubbed underneath his truckers cap and sighed.

"You don't mess around in there. They are a rowdy bunch. Know you're coming Harry. These know who you are, a real hen party." Harry gave a jerk of the head and headed inside without weapons, Bobby gesturing Sam and Dean to follow.

Upon entering the entire building was a devil's trap then in each archway there were runes of protection, survival. Harry watched as Sam catalogued everything he saw, and the things he wanted to ask questions about. Then the six people tied to chairs in their own individual devil's traps sat hissing in laughter when they saw Harry. Harry checked the chairs they were sitting in, the runes carved into the wood blessed by a shaman. He watched were bare skin touching the wood burned and checked Bobby. "Pull Sam back."

"Watch and learn." Bobby whispered between Sam and Dean then stepped into a white powered circle and rubbed Eucalyptus on his temples then where his heart was. Juniper was stashed in each corner of the room.

"Give them the Eucalyptus. Do what Bobby did."

"It's like a lesser demon repellent. Temples and heart." Bobby explained as he tossed it over his circle to them. Harry closed his eyes and began to perform the exorcism and tried to tune out what the demons were saying and it was working until he recognized the voice. As soon as they started talking Bobby started chanting, to help Harry focus.

"Well, Potter. Grew up a little." Malfoy Senior. Closing his eyes again he continued, half listening as he prattled on. "Voldemort says hello. No one believed you could murder him, let alone understand how to make sure he doesn't return for hell. Smarter than we gave you credit for. But those friends of yours, as soon as that mark appear, the mark of death, they rejected you yes?" Bobby handed the Sage and lavender to Harry as he continued from exorcism to ritual. "Cleansing the air isn't going to do anything dear boy. Do they know you died for them? I bet they don't" The body rubbed against the ropes. "Does the mark still hurt sometimes? I heard it does. Amazing how that works out, you die, Voldemort dies, all the deatheaters die, but you still get visions. A psychic are we? Nose bleeding yet?"

"Wee, little baby Potter. Sirius misses you. Cried out for you a few times in hell." Bellatrix. Harry continued with his ritual, not missing a beat. "Did you know how much fun it was to kill him, and in front of you. Oh how you cried, makes my heart go a flutter." Closing his eyes drew magic from his core to silence them. He almost completed the circle when he heard.

"Neat trick." He paused, just sounded like a little kid. Playing tricks. "You know, you didn't save me. Let me die, they tortured me for hours. Lucius and Bellatrix got a turn." As he closed the circle with the sage he dropped it and a gust of wind through the bunker. His magic was building inside of him. A trickle of blood fell from his nose. He repeated the exorcism in Latin each word laced with magic and intent, pulling energy from his core the demons began to thrash and black rushed towards the ceiling and he waved his hand and encompassed it in a green light that was so violent he flinched and felt ashes fall to his skin.

"Guess that takes care of clean up." Dean muttered as he looked at empty chairs.

"That doesn't usually happen." Harry muttered as he crumpled to the floor. "Well shit, neither does this. Bobby, you okay?"

"I'm good kid."

"Alright, well I'm not." Harry gasped for breath, then attempted to stand. "Okay, feet." He managed to stand when an arm wrapped around his waist. Looking at Dean he flushed.

"Thanks, just get me to my car."

"You are not driving her into wheat fields dude. Sammy will drive your car to Bobby's and we'll all crash." Dean supported Harry to the Impala then let him fall into the backseat and Harry had his keys out for Sam and he curled onto his side. As the car started Dean fidgeted as he drove.

"Say whatever you want to say."

"You were right. It felt wrong being in there. But it got better towards the end."

"Mixture of demons and magic. Doesn't bother Bobby any more."

"So, what was with the collapsing at the end?"

"Used almost all my magic, meaning almost all my energy."

"So you are pretty much aggravated with the questions."

"Well, at least you haven't shot me yet." Harry snorted then winced.

"What to tell me what those demons were talking about?"

"No."

"So if I got Sammy to figure out who this Lucius Malfoy was, we'd figure out who Bellatrix was, I'd just ask questions then."

"I bet Sam would ask questions and you'd sit and stare with that intimidation thing you do." Harry's words began slurring in exhaustion. "How much longer."

"Not long." Dean glanced at Harry through the review mirror and didn't like then crumbled man he saw, nothing as powerful as Harry should be curled into itself wincing at every slight bump or pothole Dean hadn't managed to miss on the way to Bobby's.

"I killed them."

"What?"

"Both Lucius and Bellatrix. They had done some things you and Sam have and will never understand or see, don't send him researching." Harry mumbled into the darkness of the Impala.

"We're pulling in to Bobby's."

"Thank Merlin." Harry slid into a sitting position gripping the door as he waited for the car to park to see Sam and Bobby waiting, chancing a glance at Dean who was still looking out the windshield.

"The road's rough and you are a girl." He shrugged and walked around the car to help Harry but Bobby stopped him. They watched as he struggled up the stairs and over the salt lines and onto a rickety old couch then fell on it with a grimace then a sigh.

"I'm going to sleep. Knock me up in the morning yeah?"

"Sure thing." Bobby dropped Harry's duffle next to the couch and headed through the stacks of books to his room.

"Means wake him up you idjits." Bobby shouted from the back. "Go to sleep."

The dreams were inevitable that night, and Harry knew it. Even if he had managed to take a dreamless sleep potion they had stopped working against the flashbacks as Bobby had dubbed them. The silencing charms stopped holding up after a few hours because of unpracticed magic, so if he woke up screaming or mumbling in Latin and the Winchesters couldn't handle that, well they'd just have to figure out how to deal with it. Bobby certainly had.

So when the memory of fourth year came, being tied in that graveyard and Pettigrew slicing down his forearm, losing Cedric and the abuse of the Dursley's that summer and every summer after. The green flashes of light started grasping his mind he became lost in the battle and torture. He felt the killing curse course through his body, the agony it brought forth. The reminder of all the Crucio's he had endured when captured by deatheaters. Then he was back at Riddle's mansion watching as Lucius and Bellatrix tortured and murdered innocent children. Another flash of violent jade light and he was thrown to the Forbidden Forrest where he killed Voldemort.

A pair of arms wrapped around him as his eyes flew open, gasping for air and clinging to whoever it was. "It's okay, you're awake now. You're at Bobby's." He felt an awkward rub on the back and he realized who he was clinging to. He looked into light green eyes and mumbled an apology. "It's okay." Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and stared at the floor between his bare feet. "I'm going to go back to sleep, maybe another hour." Dean made to get up but Harry caught his arm then let go as soon as he paused.

"Thanks, most of the time I wake up when I hit the floor or to cold water." Dean gave a nodded and headed up the stairs leaving Harry to sort himself out. Pulling off his boots Harry flexed his swollen feet and headed for the shower and then to make breakfast in Bobby's, grimace, kitchen. The shower was a quick affair, with a stumbling dance and apologies with Dean as they ran into each other in the hallway. Dean mumbling something about not being about to sleep leaving Harry feeling guilty so he scrubbed down Bobby's stove and surrounding counter area before making eggs, bacon, and chips. Not the most healthy, but Bobby had it and it meant they'd eat it. When it was finished Sam, followed by Dean, then Bobby crowded around the wobbly table that hadn't any books piled onto it and Bobby took in the kitchen.

"Rough night kid?"

"Mumbled in Latin all night." Dean answered before shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Then moaned in appreciation, getting looks from around the table.

"Sorry."

"So you speak fluent Latin?" Sam asked, after pushing his empty plate towards the center of the table.

"Yes, a requirement at the school I went to. There's more on the counter." Harry gestured and Sam stood immediately to get more, followed by Dean.

"And you memorized the how to exorcise demons?" Harry nodded and continued eating.

"Interesting. So where'd you go to school."

"I don't talk about that. So where are you two headed now?"

"Ellisville, Mississippi." Bobby supplied. "Spirit in a church you need to take care of, unwed mothers getting messed with. Stop at the Motel if you need intel."

"Where are you going?"

"The motel, you got a full day's drive ahead of you." Harry gathered empty dishes and started washing them up.

"He kicking us out Bobby?" Dean asked.

"No, he's informing you, and unwed mothers getting hassled in the Bible Belt, you know what that means son?"

"Getting killed Dean." Sam supplied as he read over a filed Bobby slid across the table. "So this Reverend Luther from the forties didn't bother anyone until recently, and people used to visit the church?"

"Ask Harry. He's been." Bobby smirked, as he watched Harry still.

"You went to this church, with a ghost?" Sam asked.

"He's supposed to know why you're still here on earth. I needed to know."

"And what did Reverend Luther tell you."

"That I was unwelcome, a performer of the old arts." Harry shrugged.

"Says this Reverend has a companion spirit that no one really sees?"

"That would by Holiday." Harry supplied. "The Reverend hates her, she was a performer of the old kind, and she read my cards."

"Well boys, I'm kicking you out. All of you, Ellisville, Mississippi." Bobby smirked as Harry slammed a plate in the sink then brushed a soapy hand through his hair.

"I need to learn to shut my mouth." Harry muttered as he brushed by Dean and to his bag.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a phone ringing in the front room and Harry brushed by Dean to get to his bag. "'Lo." He answered after sitting down. The Winchesters sat quietly and listened to Harry's murmured response. "Thanks for letting me know Neville, just send the paper. I'll pay." Harry sat still for a moment then the cell phone went crashing against the fireplace and Harry went storming out of Bobby's house.

"Who's Neville?" Dean asked after a moment's silence. Bobby shrugged.

"Kid doesn't talk about his past, but that cell phone isn't ever being used again. Go check on him." Dean gave a 'do I have to' look but shuffled out the house and found Harry sitting against a tower of rusted cars with a tattered newspaper in his hands reading.

"Want to talk about what just happened." Harry thrust a copy of the Daily Prophet from a month ago to Dean. "The pictures move."

"Yeah, and there I am, first salt and burn. Moving on, read the articles." Harry pointed below the pictures."

It has been decreed, due to the scaring that one, Mister Harry James Potter, had hidden until the death of Tom Marvolo Riddle, he was in fact in league to become the next dark lord of the Wizarding World. Every property has been forth seized and any deemed dark has been destroyed. For more information on his scar, what is believed to be the mark of his followers turn to page B-3, for a list of seized properties, with thanks to the Weasley's and Hogwarts, B-2. This history of Mister Potter continues here.

"I left a home to Neville, because the ministry wouldn't be able to get their hands on it when his Gran died. The Weasley's knew about it. That house in the corner there," Harry pointed to a picture of Number 12 in flames. "That was where he lived. My Godfather, Sirius, left that house to me when he was killed. I hope he haunts the hell out of the Ministry for what they have done. I know Fred probably is, even though he was a Weasley, he wouldn't stand for any of this. He knew what was right and wrong and this, is wrong." Dean bit his lip.

"The scar was a mark of death. I got both of them from Voldemort, the lightning bolt the first time he tried to kill me. The snake when he did kill me." Harry rubbed his hands on his jeans. "Holiday told me that the world needs me and that's why I'm here. That there is someone out there who is hurting as bad as I am." Harry shrugged. "Be you're self Harry, because believe it or not, this person will fall hard and so deep you'll finally find that happiness you never thought you'd have. That's what she told me. That was when I was twenty-one, right after I made it here, well to Louisiana."

"You're an odd one, just chatting up spirits left and right?"

"Hey, you'll get used to it." Harry stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. "Well we need to get going, unwed mother's to save and all that lovely rot." Dean made to hand the paper back but Harry stopped him. "Keep it, you might figure something out about me."

"Well, I see it this way. You'll tell us when you're ready." Dean shook the paper for Harry to take back. Harry gave a smile and took it, then offered a hand to Dean to help him off the ground, and pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Dean asked as he kicked at the dirt then looked at Harry.

"For waking me up, for not killing me, for listening." Harry listed it out on his fingers and Dean grabbed his hand again.

"Dude, you're about to turn this into a chick flick moment, and just no." His eyes wide and Harry smirked and laughter escaped.

"Okay, let's get our stuff and go. Bobby probably thinks you killed me." Harry started walking towards the house with Dean lingering behind.

"Hey kid!" Bobby hollered as they pushed through the door.

"Bobby, I'm older than Sam. I'm not a kid." Harry answered as he picked up the pieces of his phone. "Great." Not like Neville called anyways, always bad news when he did call.

"Need your car."

"No." It was simple. It was Harry's car and he wasn't giving up for anyone. Not even Bobby.

"Need it for transport kid." A mumbled, 'its Harry interrupted' as Sam and Dean walked into the front room. "You've got the storage I need for the new weapons."

"You have storage in your car Bobby, and you faked enough FBI badges you should know how to talk your way out of anything." Harry tugged at his plain tee then fixed a green khaki jacket over it.

"Not the same thing, Harry. And I'm getting that book you wanted."

"The text written by a S. Prince?" Eye's fixed on the set Bobby kept hidden beneath dusty trucker caps.

"Yeah, friend I'm transporting for got his hands on it, said he'd give it over, got some woo-woo spells on it, won't even let him open it. Said I could have it." Bobby shrugged. "Don't understand what the big deal is with this book. Been searching for how long?"

"Four years."

"Who is this S. Prince?"

"Someone who was extremely important, and bloody brilliant. Remember that spell that took out that werewolf?"

"The one you cut him to bits with? Yeah, kind of hard not to kid."

"This guy invented that spell." Harry dug into the pocket of his jeans and was about to toss Bobby the keys. "Oh, but I have to drive your car." His dejected tone caused Sam and Dean to hide smiles.

"Nothing wrong with Betsy. But no, you're riding with the boys." Harry turned to look at them to see a shrug from Dean.

"Fine with us, you just get back seat." Sam voiced, and then Harry tossed his keys to Bobby.

"Cherish her. I don't want to repaint her when I get her back." Harry picked up his bag and looked back at Sam and Dean. "So, are we ready?"

"Yeah." Sam bent to avoid the top of the doorframe and headed towards the Impala and got in shotgun, Harry slid in the back with Dean driving. After about an hour of driving through cornfields and listening to Sam's boredom tapping at the door panel Harry huffed and smiled.

"Ever seen a crop circle?"

"Talk to aliens to?" Dean asked without taking his eyes off the road.

"Nah, not that I know of." Sam chuckled.

"Where's this coming from?"

"Tell him Harry." Harry glanced up at Dean and caught his eyes in the rear view mirror. Huh.

"Nah, you go ahead, I bet it'll be buckets of fun the way you tell it."

"This guy, held a conversation with the spirit of Holiday. Just chatted her up."

"Really?" Sam slid around on the seats and looked at Harry. "What did you talk about?"

"The future." Harry answered. "The reason I'm still here."

"So wait, it's not the Reverend that tells people why they are supposed to be here is it. It's Holiday."

"No they both do. I'd just believe Holiday over the Reverend. He didn't seem right when I was there."

"And you didn't do anything?"

"Just starting out, didn't know anything. Plus it didn't cross my mind until Bobby brought it up again. We all make mistakes." Harry shrugged then slid across the entire bench of the back seat. Lying down, head on his duffle.

"Make yourself comfortable." Dean muttered.

"Plan to."

"So Sam, any tattoos?"

"Not yet." Was the response and Dean's brow rose. "You?" Sam angled so he could talk to both Harry and Dean.

"Besides the scar," Harry made a look to show thinking. "Yeah."

"Going to share with the class?" Dean asked.

"No, don't think so." Harry smirked. "You got any ink?"

"Nope." The car lulled into a silence again so Harry opted for sleep, to be woken up to the Impala parking outside of Mayes Diner. Harry banged his head on the window.

"You are evil, pure evil." He muttered as he stretched his legs out and followed them into the diner.

"Liked the pie." Dean grinned and walked in. The lunch crowd thinned out to a few stragglers and Lucy was reading behind the counter when they walked in.

"Didn't think I'd been seeing you boys back so soon." Dean grinned and sat at one of the stools in front of her and Sam sat on one side followed by Harry taking the other. "Oh, hello there Harry. Might want to be on the look out. Joe is working today." Harry proceeded to bang his head on the countertop then left it there while Sam and Dean ordered. "Guess it's the usual?" Lifting his head he gave Lucy a smile of affirmative, then swiveled towards Dean.

"So, are we stopping to sleep or driving straight through?"

"Sleeping beauty needs more sleep?"

"Dean." Sam elbowed him. "Yeah, we decided to stop in Roulle so you could get your stuff, sleep then head out."

"Awesome." Harry set his head back on the counter. "Luce, can I get some coffee too?" He shouted in her general direction.

"Thought I heard that accent a moment ago." Harry turned and looked at Sam and Dean mouthing 'help' but got smirks, as they looked the guy up and down. "Oh and you brought friends. And what fine looking friends they are." Joe was your stereotypical midwestern guy. Meaning he had muscles and height going for him, and you wouldn't figure him for anything but a farm boy until getting close enough to talk to him. He wore bracelets that harbored colors the rainbow didn't even have, and he let his eyes roam and he was the friendly sort. "Please tell me they aren't taken honey." Joe stopped with a hand on his hip and Harry heard a giggle from Lucy as she put their plates down.

"So how's that fella Harry?" Lucy had to stir the pot

"Fella?" Joe sounded outraged.

"Yeah the one he's always seeing up in South Dakota, that fella. So how was he?"

"Delightful, just delightful." Harry started stabbing his food and Sam pulled the plate away.

"It didn't do anything to you."

"Well it's not helping me out either." Harry said pointedly as he stabbed another tomato off his side salad he ordered with his burger. Joe slid into the seat next to Harry and swiveled the chair and leaned close.

"So, when are you ever going to let me show you the town?" Dean covered his mouth with a napkin as Joe's finger traveled down Harry's arm, then to his shoulder. The clank of the fork against the plate grew louder and Dean interfered when the pie was served. He took a bite out of the cherry pie and moaned low enough for those surrounding to hear then pulled at Harry's arm to swivel him towards Dean.

"Babe, you gotta try this pie. Here." He lifted a forkful of pie to Harry's mouth and fed Harry a bite of cherry pie with everyone watching. Noticing crumbs on the corner of Harry's mouth he wiped them off with his thumb then licked it clean and went back to eating his pie. Leaving a hand on Harry's arm, claiming.

"Huh, you could have let me in on the secret Harry." Joe stalked off, and Dean's hand moved to the countertop. He finished his pie before noticing everyone staring at him then wiped his mouth.

"Saved his ass. Being too much of a girl to say he wasn't interested." Dean set the napkin on the plate and headed towards the bathroom. Lucy just looked at Harry staring at his pie, then at Sam watching Harry.

"Okay, I'll pack that to-go for you Harry and coffees all around, no charge. What about you Sam, want that pie to go? You haven't touched it either."

A strangled, "Sure, and the bill?"

"Sure thing." Lucy paused in front of Harry. "You alive in there?"

"Yeah, just got to use the loo." Harry placed enough money to cover their lunch and passed Dean on the way to the bathroom and stumbled over his feet and hit the wall going through the doorway. "Bugger." He splashed water on his face. "If I wasn't gay before that certainly turned me gay." Rubbing his face dry with the bottom of his shirt he headed back out to see the guys outside leaning against the Impala.

"So, you chose huh?" Lucy asked as she popped the top on his coffee.

"What?"

"Dean? I mean, I know it was supposed to be an act, but the way he watched you stumble into that wall and waited for you to come out of the bathroom but gave up after a minute. Not an act honey."

"Right. Just need to get laid Lucy, and that, was quite a moment. And he is quite a man." Harry gulped the hot coffee as he rationalized it in his mind, except it wasn't working. "Oh bloody, buggering hell."

"That's what I thought. Now go drive away into the sunset and I'll see you whenever I see you next. Cause little ole me, doesn't matter a bit to you."

"Yeah, cause the pie is just that good here."

"Dean thinks so." Lucy passed his pie over and shooed him out the door and headed towards the Impala.

"Hey, Sammy wants backseat says he's tired."

"S'fine." Harry answered and scooted in shotgun. It was quiet while Sam napped. Dean was content listening to whatever he was listening to and Harry's mind was running a million miles a second. He couldn't deny that Dean was attractive, because he was very attractive. Glancing over he took in the leather jacket covering the open button down shirt and tee, the worn jeans and boots. Even sitting he eluded predator.

"Dude." Harry snapped from his musings and over towards Dean. "Look, I'm sorry if I freaked you out at the diner, but you looked like you were about to shoot the guy."

"Stab him in the eye with a fork maybe. But it just startled me for a moment. No big deal."

"Then what the hell are you freaking out about over there?"

"Nothing."

"What ever you say Harriet." Harry smacked Dean on the back of the head before he could think and Dean just looked at him.

"Eyes on the road Deana, eyes on the road." Harry smirked.

The ride back was quiet and slowly drifted into a blanket of humidity, and over the course of fuel breaks they all broke down and shed their jackets, leaving them in tee shirts. The terrain went from smooth, rolling fields of corn and wheat to the choppy bridges over mossy swampland and cypress trees won dominance over pine by the time they arrived in Louisiana. The humidity turned into a downpour of rain causing the pavement to steam from the rays of heat.

The crunch of parking lot gravel caused the lull they were in to perk as Dean parked by the office.

"Office is closed until morning. Always is by four." Harry rubbed his eyes. "You can stay in my room, I got an extra bed and a couch. Head towards the end down there." He pointed towards the end of the row. The mad dash for weapons and bags then towards Harry's room left them soaked and panting. Unlocking the door Harry checked his wards, then salt lines. "It's not much, but it's a place to sleep." It wasn't as tacky as the other rooms. The walls were painted a warm white and he changed the comforter to black. He had a digital television instead of one of the ones Thibodeaux picked up from the thrift store. The bathroom he scrubbed down repainted and replaced the shower curtain with a black one.

"Homey." Dean commented and pulled out a change of clothes. "I call shower and a bed."

"Sam you can have the other bed, I'll take the couch."

"I'll take the couch." Sam muttered sifting through his duffle.

"And being the freakishly tall person you are, you're going to lie and say that'll be comfortable?" Harry shook his head. "At least I'll fit on that couch." Dean strode out of the bathroom and Harry fought the urge to lick his lips, he stole the bathroom before Sam could finish gathering his clothes.

"What's with Harry?" Dean asked as he rolled his clothes and placed them back in the bag then sat on the bed.

"Who knows?" Sam shrugged and then grinned. "So, you like him?"

"What?"

"You like him. Please Dean. That stuff you pulled at the diner and the waiting behind for him after he walked into the wall? And don't think I didn't see the way you were watching him in the car. He had to be blind, and even with those glasses of his I think he might have figured it out."

"You don't know what you're talking about Sammy." Dean yanked the covers down. "We're leaving early, four hours and some research to do." Harry walked out the bathroom and grabbed a blanket from the closet, Dean tracking his movements.

"Right." Sam smirked as headed for the bathroom.

"Go shower, you reek." Dean asked when he spotted the one picture on the nightstand. "Who are they?"

"That's my mum and dad."

"They looked happy."

"I like to believe they were. Sirius told me they were happy, Professor Lupin also. It's one of the only things I have left besides Sirius' bike. Had an old cloak of my Dad's but the Weasley's managed to hide it away before I left. I have a few of Professor Lupin's old texts but that picture." Harry walked over, running fingers over the frame. "That picture is the only reminder of them that I have." Harry rubbed his face. "I'm going to take my own couch hostage before Sam decides in his stubborn mind he's going to sleep on it."

"So, risking turning this into a chick flick moment. Are you going to cry if we have to burn Holiday's remains?" Dean asked

"I think that's what she's always wanted."

The research wasn't hard to complete after a quick lunch, they got the basics on the Reverend Luther Hall. Buried in the county cemetery and after searching through newspapers many unwed mothers started disappearing slowly but surely. There were few and if any news articles were printed of the disappearances they were sparse. When Sam found an article about Holiday he pulled Dean away from his daydreaming and Harry from another musty tomb he found.

"This was Holiday?" Sam tapped a finer against the yellowed paper at a black and white picture, the tagline claiming 'Voodoo Queen slays Reverend!' The woman pictured had smooth dark skin and wide eyes reading tarot cards. Her hair in braids held back by what was most likely a colorful headband matching the dress she had worn.

"That's her." Harry confirmed. "When I spoke with her, she felt trapped there. She couldn't move on."

"Excuse me?" The voice was timid and brought them away from the paper.

"Yes?" Sam asked, taking in the fragile girl in.

"You're looking for the truth about old Reverend Luther?"

"You have information?" Sam grabbed a pen from the table he commandeered.

"No, Mrs. Ruby on Sanger Street. Two blocks over, she's always on her porch this time. You go talk to her, and you'll get the truth."

"How do you know?" Dean interrupted.

"She was his granddaughter." They watched as she scurried back between the shelves and they decided to go meet Mrs. Ruby.

Mrs. Ruby was tiny in her ninety-two years of age. She rocked in her cypress rocker and gestured through her vague recollections as the boys sat enthralled. "The Reverend, he was my grandfather. And he was working a magic or a darkness he had no right to be messing with. No human should have been messing with. I didn't know or understand what it was until I saw him kill that woman, chanting in tongues, weird lights flashing all over the place. What the Reverend was doing was wrong. No doubt about that." She paused to take a sip of her tea, the continued, "No Christian Reverend would ever call to the spirits, drink, mix, or cut himself up the way he did over a cauldron." She rubbed her hands as if to warm her self. "I prayed he wouldn't do these things, but when a man loses his mind, far enough to believe in witchcraft and living forever? There isn't any saving him. I left to stay with my aunt." As an after thought she added, "And the way he preached to those people was off. It was like they had a veil over their eyes. I had to get out of there."

"You did the right thing Mrs. Ruby." Harry whispered. "Thank you for your time." He grasped her hand then headed for the Impala.

"A veil?" Sam searched for possibilities while Dean drove towards the church. "Perhaps a spell?"

"Compulsion or Imperio." Harry answered. "Both are dark, and the Imperio is an Unforgivable. It causes a person to lose their free will basically."

"Speaking from experience?" Dean questioned.

"No, because of the levels of my magic, I'm one of the few wizards who can overcome the Imperio." When they parked outside the church the sun was setting, but you could see the care some of the locals put into it. A fresh coat of white paint left it cheery. It was still open even after morning services. Suppose prayer was something they took seriously in Ellisville.

Stained glass cast rays of colored shadows against the pews as Dean and Sam began looking around the inside grounds of the church. Harry sat and waited amongst the pews and soon Holiday was next to him in the outfit she was pictured in the newspaper in. Harry gave a polite, "Hello Holiday."

"Came back to see me Harry?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Not just for you."

"I know that child. Been a long time coming, having hunters show up here."

"But are you ready Holiday?"

"I've been ready Harry, I've been ready for a long while."

"Did you really kill him?" Harry finally turned back to face her. Searching and feeling the need to reach out to her.

"Had to stop a mad man." Her neck tilted back as she laughed then as she sobered, a cold hand on Harry's arm. "Just like someone else I knew. Except I wasn't as lucky as he was." Harry rubbed a hand on his thigh and studied the patterns on the floor.

"If that's what you want to call this."

"Oh, you'll recognize it soon enough Harry." A hint of sorrow and tears flowed through her voice as she spoke.

"Do you know where you're buried?"

"I'm not sure, it feels like I'm stuck in these walls. A little bit of me is everywhere in here."

"Did you die with that on?" Harry pointed towards her bracelet, a masked charm dangling from her wrist.

"Ah, yes." A serene smile crossed her face. "My mother gave this to me. The Ubuso, a symbol of protection and luck."

"Harry? Is someone here? Who are you talking to?" Sam asked as he rounded back to the pews. Warmth brushed across their skin and Holiday was gone from the pews.

"That was Holiday. Did you find anything?"

"A Basement."

"A basement? In the south?" Puzzlement crossed Harry face.

"My thoughts exactly." Sam said running a hand through his shaggy hair.

"Show me." Harry motioned for Sam to lead the way and Dean was standing in the middle of what the church used as a storage area.

"I thought you couldn't have basements here." Dean asked as he turned towards their footsteps.

"No, you can't. Especially right at or below sea level. You run the chance of risking the foundation of the building and flooding." Sam supplied.

"Even as a new comer I know this. Why else do people get buried in cement crypts and above ground? A real good hurricane season and bodies go floating. Should have tipped them off." Harry checked his watch. "Sun's been down for a few hours now. There's something here." Harry moved closer to the walls, reaching a hand out.

"Okay. Well I'll head to the graveyard. Burn some bones." Dean said.

"Weapons." Harry muttered to himself as they all walked out to the Impala shuffling through until he got the sawed off and stowed the iron tactical knife Bobby rigged up for him in his boot. Sam stepped away to head back into the church to stay and help Harry with whatever he needed.

"Watch out for Sam." A warm hand on Harry's wrist caused him to look at Dean.

"Don't work alone too often?"

"I think, that he might be all I have." It was low, but Harry caught it and nodded, gave Dean's shoulder a squeeze and turned to catch up with Sam.

"You be careful too." A slight jerk was the only reaction Harry gave Dean as he jogged to catch up with Sam.

The journey back down to the basement was colder and quieter. Harry opened his mind to the aura of the room. Someone or something had died here. Feeling the wall, Harry gave it an experimental tap remembering what Holiday had said. 'It feels like I'm stuck in these walls'. Hearing a hollow thump he and Sam went searching for anything they could use to hack at the walls. Finding a hammer Harry knocked a big enough whole to use his hands to peel away at the cheap plaster, as Sam stood watch. The wall started breaking away easier and then he stopped.

"Sam." Harry paused at the remains that tumbled out towards him. Moving closer to peer down into the wall. "Flashlight?" Sam pulled the light out of his pocket and shined it down into the wall, and it showed several sets of remains piled atop each other.

Stepping back and brushing his nose from the smell he took in Sam's look of disgust and remembered how the Deatheaters piled bodies of deceased muggles atop each other, not caring. "Call Dean and tell him he better hurry the bloody hell up. The Reverend might have been quiet up until now." Shaking his head, Harry readied his shotgun.

"Feel that?" Sam asked as the air turned frigid and goose bumps littered their skin.

"I believe the Reverend just got angry." Harry scanned the room, resisting the urge to crouch as he heard Sam asking Dean where he was on burning the bones.

"So you found them?" The voice was vile, and held air of superiority to it. The Reverend was picturesque in his pinstripes and suspenders. Definitely not church attire. Yet, Harry could see the attraction to him though, why people would sit and listen to him on their Sunday mornings, he had the voice to scare you shitless about hellfire and the dangers of sin but he had the face to sweet talk you out of your very last penny. "It took me years to figure it out. But even then I still got killed before I could do it." The gust of air knocked Harry off his feet, head banging against the floor, teeth biting through his bottom lip. Sam slid against the wall as soon as Harry was down. "I couldn't get rid of the sin, couldn't get what I wanted." Harry fired a shot and reloaded to have the Reverend appear next to him, hands holding his neck tight, choking him. "No one would notice. It was noble. Their life for my immortality." Sam's shot was close, leaving Harry hearing nothing but a loud ringing.

"What's he talking about?" Sam asked as Harry deciphered through the haze of ringing bells.

"Blood sacrifice." Inhaling deeply Harry stood.

"Not a blood sacrifice, they were more like, unknowing helpers." The mist of his hand reached through Harry's chest, crushing him face first into the ground. "You've experienced it." The glee was momentary as Harry groped from the knife in his boot then sliced through the air, but the Reverend returned as soon as he turned his face. "Didn't recognize it before." A shot rang through the basement and then Sam was knocked off his feet.

"You're just like her. Performer of the old arts, and trying to kill me." The Reverend placed a hand on Harry's scar and he felt a cold agony course through his veins and deep into his bones. It was worse than ten Crucio's cast at once and he was fighting a losing battle. His muscles seized. A howl rose from the Reverend's throat signaling his bones turned to ash. The frigid air turned to warmth, but Harry remained trapped.

Sam's phone chirped and he scrambled and answered with a rushed, "Dean?"

"Did we get him? What's going on Sammy?"

"The Reverend. Before he was finished burning he did something to Harry."

"I'm on my way."

Holiday appeared in all her glory bright colors. A headband holding her braids back, just as she was pictured in the newspaper. She brushed a hand over Harry's temples and gave a warm smile to Sam as he kneeled next to Harry

"He'll be okay Sam. He's hurting. That child." She brushed his hair fondly. "That child is always hurting. Not so much now that you Winchester's walked into his life." A flutter of Harry's eyelids and a lurch of his stomach sent him crawling to his knees as he vomited, and then he flipped onto his back away from the vomit.

"What Ms. Holiday be telling you about the eucalyptus plant?"

"Did he split his soul Holiday? Harry wiped his mouth, ignoring everything else.

"Tried, I got the same snake you did child and every soul in those walls went willingly." Grief tore through Harry at the pain the Reverend must have put those women through to make them want to die rather than fight for their lives to get back to their children.

"They want out." It was soft and weak when Harry spoke the words.

"So do I. I'm looking forward to what the great divine has in store for me."

"We're going to have to burn the place down aren't we?" Sam asked from where he was sitting on his heels. Harry nodded. "A holy place? Just to be clear on this."

"Not so holy from my point of view." Holiday interjected. "And, honey you dig up graves and burn bones most days." She looked up a moment before they heard Dean's shoes pounding on the wooden floors and stairs.

Dean took in Sam sitting on his heels and Harry sprawled on his back. Handprint bruises on his neck, blood crusted on the corner of his lip where he hadn't managed to wipe clean. Dean crouched low to check Sam over quickly seeing only minor bumps and bruising he moved to sit and lean over Harry. Holding Harry's face he looked, assessing the pain in the emerald eyes, and the raw pink scar. He brushed a hand over the scar then down Harry's cheek to the bloodied lip, eliciting a shiver.

"What the hell happened making this one vomit?" Dean yelled placing a hand on Harry's chest and then pointed to Sam. "And that one go all pasty?" He looked to Holiday for an explanation and frowned at the smirk on her face.

"A kind of ghost whammy. I believe is what you would call it? The Reverend locked Harry away in his mind. He was almost free of the hold when I pulled him the rest of the way out." Holiday paused then looked at Harry. "Torture curse?" At Harry's affirmative, she continued. "Chocolate bar, or some loving and you'll feel right as rain. Ms. Holiday is thanking ya'll, but I would like to see what freedom has in store for me, if you wouldn't mind?"

Dean helped Harry to his feet, and then with an arm around his waist, Harry wrapped an arm around Dean's back as they maneuvered the stairs. "Oh, and Harry. You remember what I told you those years ago? Only a fool would let this opportunity pass him up." Managing to make it to the Impala, Dean let Harry sprawl across the back seat and muttered about finding more gas and matches when Harry grasped his arm. With a wave of the hand, the church started to crackle and the flames began to slowly reach towards the dark night sky as if someone added fuel to the fire every few moments. At Dean's look, Harry mumbled about it being easier and quicker, squeezed Dean's hand and then drifted off into a fitful slumber.

Sam pulled open the passenger door and shoved Dean. "Right. You don't have a teenage girl crush on Harry. No, not at all." Shutting the door and banging his head on the glass he waited for Dean to get in and head to some motel so they could sleep in a bed and not cramped in the Impala.

It was an awkward shuffle into the motel room and two beds leading to an argument to figure out who shared or who took the floor. To which Harry solved the problem after he got in the shower and walked back in the room to the Winchesters still arguing. He grabbed a pillow and transfigured it into a pitiful cot then grabbed a blanket, curled up and was out like a light. Sam stood in awe as Harry transfigured the pillow into the cot and Dean grabbed a pillow and tossed it onto the cot next to Harry then snagged the shower to flop onto a bed and pass out him self. Sam followed soon after but when he got back noticed the pillow Dean tossed on the cot was now under Harry's head and chuckled. Yeah, his brother was a big girl underneath the demon hunting exterior.

Dean woke up a few hours later to Harry shouting, "Bloody, buggering fuck." Looking over to see Harry as he scrambled up off the floor. "Bloody spell never lasts long when I don't intentionally cast it." Harry had taken off the shirt he was sleeping in sometime in the night and the glow of the morning caught the scars littering his back as he searched through his duffle and into the bathroom, sweat pants slung low on his hips.

"What just happened?" Sam asked from his bed.

"I believe Harry's cot disappeared on him." Dean chuckled then turned over onto his stomach to go back to sleep and heard Harry stride through the room, avoiding the salt lines and out the room.

"Where's he going?"

"Do I look like his keeper Sam?" Dean growled.

"Want to be." Laying in bed, staring at the grainy sheets in Dean's case, and feet hanging off the bed in Sam's, neither could go back to sleep. "So, what do you think Holiday meant by a torture curse?"

"Probably exactly what it says Sammy?"

"And splitting of souls?"

"Open up your laptop and research. Or better yet, when Harry gets back ask him." The room lulled into the air conditioned silence and a rustle of sheets whenever Sam would shift to cover his feet from the cold. Harry opened the door and toed over the salt then nudged the door shut with his boot and set coffee and beignets on the table.

"You're up?" He asked when he sat and looked over to the Winchester's staring at the ceiling.

"Hard to be asleep when someone wakes you up and storms out the room."

"Sorry about that. Cot disappeared on me." Harry grabbed the coffees and handed onto Sam and Dean then grabbed the brown paper bags filled with powdered sugar and fried dough to each of them. "Not as good as Roulle, but once I saw beignets, I had to get them over doughnuts." Harry shrugged and went back to the table, listening to the crinkle of the bags and the groans of appreciation. "So I suppose you have questions?" Harry asked wiping powdered sugar from his chin.

"Loads." Dean rolled his eyes and continued devouring the beignets.

"Go for it Sam."

"So, what was this guy trying to do by splitting his soul?"

"Immortality, in the worst possible way. You kill someone and store a piece of your soul somewhere basically. We call them Horcruxes, I wouldn't know what to call them here."

"Holiday said you had experience with this? That's why you were so adamant about needing to know whether or not he did this or not."

"Yeah, I guess I should have realize he didn't, seeing as he was a spirit." Harry waved a beignet in the air spreading powdered sugar across the table. "But there was a man who did it back home, before I was exiled, he did this. Seven pieces of his soul split and before he could be killed you had to basically kill those pieces of his soul."

"And you did that?"

"Yes. And I died." Harry took a sip of the coffee he was holding. "I was a horcrux, and didn't know it."

"And you were exiled."

"I'd rather not speak about that." Another sip of his coffee then looked back at Sam. "More questions?"

"Torture curse?" Dean asked.

"Called Crucio, it's also an Unforgivable. Unbearable pain."

"And you've felt this before." Dean asked in a tone asking, no big deal.

"Several times. If you feel it enough, or long enough, you lose your mind, or you get locked in your mind. That bloke Neville, his parents are brain dead because of it." Harry shrugged.

"And this is no big deal for you?" Sam asked.

"You've felt worse Sam." Harry looked him in the eye. "Every time someone dies, you feel it. Every time you can't save someone, you feel part of that curse. You feel the emotional part of that curse all the time. It's the physical part that fries your nerves and makes your brain mush. Muscles seize, you puke your guts out, twitch while you walk. Then you should start to worry." Sam gave Dean a worried look. Then Harry shook his disposable coffee cup at him.

"You just have to know how to counter it." He popped the top and walked over to Dean and gestured for him to smell then did the same for Sam.

"Is that pure chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate." Harry recapped it and took a long pull from the cup and sat back down. "Had two cups before I got here." Harry shrugged. "I puked, but that's the first time, from influence of a ghost, not the same thing."

"So chocolate, Hershey's chocolate helps?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, as bitchy as you make it sound, chocolate helps a lot of things. Feeling sad in the wizard world, eat a bar of chocolate. Got attacked by Dementors, all the happiness sucked from your soul, here have some chocolate or really good sex." Harry chuckled.

"Hm." Dean scratched his head.

"Yeah, fucked up lot, those people are." Harry shook his head and gave a grim smile. "To think I was happy when I found out I was a wizard."

"So that thing you did with the cot?" Sam asked gesturing to the pillow.

"Oh, didn't realize I did it until I fell on the floor this morning. Transfiguration, basic stuff I learned probably a couple years into school or so. I don't like remembering much of that time. Always a mad man trying to murder me or some plot." Harry rolled the top of the paper bag up and tossed it into the trash. Swallowed the rest of his hot chocolate then looked from Dean to Sam. "I need more hot chocolate, and food." He scratched his stomach.

"Where did you get hot chocolate at around here? It's got to be ninety degrees out there?"

"Coffee shop. Bloke tried to chat me up, so we're going to find somewhere else." Harry fixed the glasses perched on his nose as Sam laughed.

"Yeah. So what's up for the day?"

"Bobby's heading through, dropping that text off for me. He's got a lead of who's helping those buggers manage to use magic. So until then, sit tight." Harry shrugged but stood up and stretched. "But I need some more bloody chocolate. It's freezing."

"Okay, let's get Harriet her chocolate." Dean grabbed clothes and a toothbrush heading for the bathroom to be hit with a shoe.

"Shut it Deana." Sam's booming laughter filled the gaudy motel room. Deer head's watching them from there grimy perches on the wall.

"Bitch." Dean growled, slamming the door.

"Jerk." Sam yelled back.

"Always this cheery in the morning?" Sam grinned and started changing in the room and Harry sat at the table, unashamedly watching. The switch from sweats to jeans, encasing muscles Harry wouldn't mind getting his hands on. He watched deft fingers button the light blue shirt up and shrug a jacket over broad shoulders.

"Enjoy the show?" Sam asked when he noticed Harry watching.

"Sure." Harry smirked, then blushed and looked away. "It's the chocolate mate. I swear, it interferes with the magic in our blood and makes us do things we wouldn't normally do. Like you blokes intoxicated or something."

"Interesting." Was all Sam said as they sat waiting for Dean to finish brushing his teeth, and Sam followed suit and grinned when Dean gaped at Sam's changed attire.

"So to the chocolate yeah? Cause a bloke can't be seen eating chocolate like a girl around Bobby. He'll start serving my holy waters up with cranberry juice." Harry gave a shudder of mock horror and led the way out of the room with the Winchester's laughing behind him. "Oh, and by the way. The locals are searching for the culprits who burned the church down to the ground." Harry handed Sam the folded newspaper he had in the inside pocket of his jacket so he could read the article in the Impala.

"Thirteen bodies so far." Sam commented. "Think that's all they'll find?"

"Maybe, hopefully?"

"But you don't think so." Dean glanced back in the review mirror to Harry.

"No, I don't think so." Harry rubbed a hand under his silver rimmed glasses. "Bloody hell, I need chocolate."

"So?" Dean asked as he pulled onto the road. "Was Ms. Holiday serious?"

"About?" Harry asked for elaboration.

"Sex, working to make this." Dean made a vague gesture towards Harry, "better?"

"Oh, she's right." Harry chuckled. "But, I don't think either of you are interested in taking one for the team? Well, anyways I don't do one-night stands. Didn't do them in the war and I don't now."

"So, you were in war since forever, so you've never had sex?" Dean asked unabashedly.

"Oh, I've had sex. Just learned my lesson. People in a war die or turn on you."

"He turned?" The way Sam asked was soft and spoken from experience.

"For noble reason, to save his mum. I would have done the same thing, but he was stupid. Bloody clever, but stupid. Trusted the wrong people. Namely his father." Shaking free of his thoughts. "Anyways, can we just stop at a gas station for some chocolate bars, I'm not in the mood for hot chocolate anymore."

As soon as Dean pulled into a Gas N' Stuff Harry shot out of the Impala and Dean looked at Sam grinding his teeth, then back through the windows at Harry. Watching him grab handfuls of chocolate bars to place them on the counter then gesture for another moment.

"Didn't figure you for the jealous type Dean."

"I heard what he said." Dean gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Enjoy the show?" Sam flushed. "You think he's hot."

"No, definitely your territory." Sam's denial was weak.

"Oh, this is just great, we are girls. Big fucking girls fighting over a guy." Dean banged his head on the steering wheel.

"At least I'm not so obvious." The pout evident was evident in Sam's tone. The back door to the Impala opened and Harry scooted in, throwing two cokes up front to Dean and Sam followed by a package of Gummi Worms into Sam's lap and a package of chips into Dean's. The brother's looked at each other and then out the windshield.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Gits." Harry piped up from the backseat causing both of them to laugh. "Just out of curiosity, are we admiring something?" Harry bit off a piece of chocolate and looked around the parking lot. "Or are we heading out?"

"Where can we take you Miss Daisy?" Dean snarled causing both Sam and Harry to snicker.

"Fresh air please. About two miles down the road, turn left out of here." Sneer evident in his voice.

"What?" Dean's eyes widened and his nose scrunched.

"It's my inner gay man speaking. Trust me." Harry spoke around a mouthful of chocolate and leaned against the front seat. His had between Dean and Sam's with his elbows brushing against their shoulders. Dean pulled up to an empty field and turned to give Harry a 'what the hell' look.

"I'm going to sit in that field." Harry pointed to the over grown grass and weeds, "to eat my chocolate." He licked his lips, and then looked at Sam. "drink my coke, and wait for Bobby." Harry opened his door. "If I need to I'll hitch a ride back or walk."

Sam and Dean watched as Harry shrugged out of his jacket then walked, no swaggered as they probably always had and plopped down in the grass.

"We've turned into girls." Dean said grabbing his coke and following Harry, with Sam on his heels. They sat and looked at the trees and the sky, avoiding each other's gaze.

"I miss dad." Sam murmured out of the blue. Dean twisted to look at him and swallowed.

"Me too Sammy. Me too."

"Even if he told you that you might have to kill me, I miss him." Harry muffled his laughter then looked between the brothers.

"He told Bobby the same thing, what's wrong with you Sam?" Harry stretched out onto his back. "Or should I not ask." At their looks he hid his face. "I swear it's the chocolate."

"Demon blood. I have demon blood in me."

"Wicked." Harry muttered. "Guess that's what the deal is with that black spot in your aura."

"Not wicked." Dean barked. "Anyone, especially a hunter finds out, Sammy's gone."

"Nah, he's got you." Harry sat back up and turned facing them. "Plus he has Bobby, and me." Harry peeled open a melting Hershey's chocolate bar open and bit into it and moaned. "Cheap American chocolate. Brilliant."

"I miss dad and mom." Dean added after a moment and looked at Sam to see him nod. They sat back watching the clouds drift by when twin pokes in the side made Harry jerk to attention.

"Sharing is caring dude." Dean snickered.

"No, it really isn't." Harry chuckled at the sentiment. "I miss Neville. He was the only friend I had after the war." Harry gave a small smile. "The only person who still said hello to me at all over there and I left him behind. After all I did, after all I sacrificed for them." Dean placed a hand on Harry's knee, the warmth radiating through the denim. Sam gave Harry a slight squeeze to the shoulder.

"I used to think that's all Dean and I did. Lose people. But we have each other, and Bobby. Now you. We do more than sacrifice Harry." Sam stood after seeing something he hadn't ever seen in his brother's eyes. Hope. He headed towards the Impala.

Harry stilled for a moment looking at Dean's hand. Dean's hand was smaller than he expected. The fingers were shorter, a bit rougher, more calloused and the top was scarred.

Harry allowed himself to reach out and trace the scars on Dean's hand and brushing against the expanse of skin between scars, his thumb brushing gentle circles against Dean's skin. He curled his fingers through the spaces of Dean's, staring transfixed at their joined hands. He looked at Dean to see him looking towards their hands, and then to Sam leaning against the Impala watching them. Dean's sudden movement of turning their hands so his palm rested against Harry's startled him with the warmth; he felt protected, that he wasn't alone. He wasn't the one everyone was depending on.

The purr of a classic Chevelle Harry would recognize anywhere caused them to hesitantly let go of each other to stand up and away from each other. Both of them had a pale flush on their necks by the time Bobby pulled up and walked over with Sam.

"Acting like a bunch of girls." He muttered at Harry's chocolate wrappers. "Got your book." Bobby tossed it haphazardly to Harry and he caught it deftly and sat down to start working on the counter charms while Sam and Dean filled Bobby in on the hunt.

"What happened for the overload of chocolate? Only saw this once, and that was when he woke up screaming about a Draco and another time when he was twitching after a hunt." Harry glanced up at Sam and Dean, then back down to the book, trusting them to explain to Bobby for him.

"Ghost whammy, mixed with a torture curse." Dean supplied, and both he and Sam filled the gaps of the hunt as Bobby nodded and responded as expected. As soon as they finished Bobby stood over Harry, his shadow blocking Harry's light.

"You okay kid?" A flush made it's way up his neck as he looked at Sam and then Dean.

"Yeah, I think I won't be needing the chocolate anymore." The Winchester's had the decency to look away.

"Right, well we need to talk. I've got some news about those magic demons. Someone's controlling them, and making them. That someone is either a witch or a wizard and it ain't of the Wiccan variety."

Author says: The thing about the bodies floating up after a really good hurricane season is somewhat true. I'll leave you to think about that. The update will probably be around midweek. Pandora Radio is amazing when writing and this week I hate driving. Hope ya'll had a great week and a better weekend. Hopefully LSU will kick Mississippi's ass, watching the game as I'm posting. I know I'm horrible. Maybe the Saints will win again at their next game, whoever they play.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry shot up to his feet taking in the tension riddling in the Winchester's shoulders. "What makes you so sure Bobby?"

"Demons, they like Wiccan's. Don't get me wrong kid, I know my stuff." Bobby brushed at the hair beneath the dirty, red truckers cap. "They use them as errand runners, as meat suits."

"Yeah. We get that Bobby." Harry's impatience was ringing through.

"Those demons are being used, well being controlled to the point of no will of their own. The hunter, that I got that book you wanted from, managed to break into the demon's mind." Harry started pacing a few steps back and forth. How many humans could break into another human's mind? Let alone a demon's?

"Bobby, this guy he's a wizard."

"That's what I've been telling you." Harry spun around, anger and frustration littering his face. It threw the Winchesters for a surprise seeing someone react this way with Bobby.

"No, the hunter you got this book from," Harry plucked the book from the ground and tossed it at Bobby's chest. "He is a wizard." Harry took a quick glance towards the Chevelle and then back at Bobby and strode towards the car. "What are you transporting?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Bobby shifted his feet and Harry tried the handle of the door to find it locked. His eyes narrowed and looked through the glass of the window and spotted a pair of dragon hide gloves.

"Dark artifacts?" Harry slammed a fist against the top of the Chevelle, startling them all and himself when a blue orb shot out from the Chevelle and hit his forearm with a sizzle.

The spark elicited no response from Harry as he stared at the elder hunter. "Fuck. Did you touch anything with your bare hands?" It wasn't anger that fueled the harshness of Harry's tone; it was the deep-seated worry that something was going to happen to Bobby, something he could have caused.

"No." Bobby answered as he looked over Harry's shoulder.

"What's left?"

"One, item. Meridian." Bobby placed his hands in the pockets of his vest. "It's got to be burned at a place where all roads stop."

"He's got you destroying it?" Harry was shocked.

"Yeah."

"Whoever this hunter is, he isn't your friend. And this text was not worth it." Harry stood shoulder to should with Bobby. "Burn it and get back here. We can wait to talk about the demons, but whatever is in that car. It is dripping with darkness and something evil."

"Kid." Bobby interrupted.

"No. Bobby, this isn't something you mess around with. This wizard could have gotten rid of that stuff and owled this stuff wherever he needed to. But he chose you." Harry rubbed his jaw. "Do you understand what I'm telling you Bobby?" Harry asked as he glanced at Bobby from the corner of his eye. "He is watching you because you are of interest. You know something or you know someone he wants. And he chose you for a reason. We'll talk when you get back, but his intentions." Harry pointed towards his Chevelle. "They are clear, he is not something you want to get involved with." Harry kicked at the ground, dust motes drifting upwards as he continued speaking his tone strained. "He's not something I ever want to get involved with again. Text me the mile marker of where you'll be just incase you run into trouble." Harry watched as Bobby nodded and headed for the Chevelle and drove north heading to Meridian.

"Need to think?" Sam asked.

"And make some phone calls." Harry added as he opened the back door to the Impala.

"Want to tell us what happened back there?" Dean questioned as he made a wide turn to head back to the motel.

"I need to think first. Then I'll fill you in."  
"No, you fill us in now. If it concerns Bobby, you fill us in now." Dean barked, leaving no room for Harry to wriggle his way out of not explaining. Sam sealed the deal when he added, "I have to agree with Dean."

"What Bobby is transporting is dark, wizarding artifacts. How often have either of you seen wizard artifacts, or anything considered Merlin era in your travels? Never right?" Harry stared out the window of the Impala. "There is a reason for that you know. Just like there is a reason they exile witches and wizards to the Americas. Why I was exiled here. There aren't any secret societies in America like there are in England or Japan. People aren't brave enough to start over here."

"Salem Witch Trials?" Sam supplied at Dean's confused look.

"Yes, people are terrified to be here. You're exiled when you are something they can't or don't want to get close enough to kill."

"Which were you?" Dean asked, and Sam elbowed him in the side.

"They probably think I was in the can't category, but I'm in the don't want to get close enough." Harry gave a sardonic grin and continued. "Ever wonder why I was the only wizard you ever met?" Twin looks showed both brothers had at one point or another, but never voiced it. "There are others here. Don't doubt that for a moment. They ran from the war and from death, but they are so well hidden they don't make trouble for themselves and rarely if ever use magic. But being burned alive, or at all?" The pause from Harry stole Sam's attention and he caught the haunted look plaguing Harry's eyes.

"Being killed for something you were born with, no choice?" Harry glanced up at Sam. "It's terrifying. This is neutral and empty territory. The ministries agreed, those stripped of magic would be placed here or those exiled." Harry watched as Sam rubbed his hands on his jeans and then Harry pulled his glasses off and rubbed the smudges off with the bottom of his shirt. "But this wizard. He's different, and his magic feels wrong. And how he manipulated Bobby to transport, he did that for a reason."

"Okay, so what's the reason and how do you know there even is one?" Dean raised a brow as he parked the Impala.

"Because, he could have portkeyed, which is like teleporting it, to wherever. No big deal. And those items that needed to be burned? He could have burned them with that spell I used on the church. The magic would have canceled any ill will out. The items." Harry swallowed as they checked the room and sat around the room, "They were dark."

"So what was that blue light that happened when you hit your car?" Dean made a waving motion to demonstrate.

"A ward on the car he had keyed to Bobby."

"It zapped you." Sam pointed to a spot of tender pink flesh and stepped over to check the wound. Sam's long tapered fingers brushed over the taunt, pink skin and he felt a rush of adrenaline. "What is that?" A sharp intake of breath as he leaned closer towards Harry, brushing a thumb over the spot on his forearm. Harry put a hand out to push Sam away and saw the confusion etched across Sam's face, across his brows and lips.

Pausing for a moment, Harry explained. "That's my magic." Harry pushed Sam away from Him and caught the flare of jealousy pass across Dean's eyes. "It's healing the burn."

"That's intense. Dean, you have to feel that." Sam looked dazed and Dean gave Harry a 'what did you just do to my brother look'.

"You'll be dying of curiosity until you get another chance." Harry stretched his arm out towards Dean as he moved closer to Harry. A gentle prod of his fingers then he pulled back.

"Holy fuck!" Dean shook his hand out as if he got burnt. "Feels like someone just shot me full of god damn electricity or something." Dean stared at Harry for a moment.

"I need to make a call." Harry riffled through his duffle to find Neville's number and walked out the door to lean against the wall as he dialed on the prepaid. The international number Neville left him rang twice before a sleepy answer.

"Harry?"

"Sorry for calling"

"No it's okay, everything alright?"

"Yeah, I've been exploring a bit."

"Really? Not staying put in Louisiana then. Good. Meet anyone interesting?"

"Couple of bloke, they go by Winchester."

"Associates or friends?" The question caught Harry off guard. Harry would love to think of them as friends, but they were a mixture of both. They were business partners.

"I'd like to think of them as friends Nev."

"Glad to hear that Harry."

"Me too, Nev. How have you been?"

"Good actually. Met a girl, her name's Grace, she's from Dublin and she's amazing."

"That's great Neville."

"So why are you calling." Neville asked after a moment of silence.

"I need a favor, if you can do this without getting into trouble."

"Okay."

"Do you know of any exiled wizards or witches? Maybe creatures, past decade or so, especially around the time I was exile?"

"Mate, why are you asking this?"

"You know that Bobby Singer bloke I told you about, a year or two ago?"

"Three years ago, but yeah I remember the bloke, you talked about him if he were blood."

"Yeah, well, he might have met up with a dark artifacts trader to get me Snape's last known text."

"Merlin's balls. That's not good."

"My thought's exactly."

"I don't know any off the top of my head, but I'll look around for you."

"Thanks Neville."

"No problem Harry. Just call more often?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry mate." Harry scratched his neck and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Where are you living now?" The question was innocent enough, but Harry felt guilty for asking, he felt like he was betraying Neville. To see if maybe Neville was living in America and was the wizard.

"A flat in London. Grace work's nights at St. Mungo's."

"Yeah? That's great."

"It is, and she is." Harry could hear the smile on Neville's face over the phone.

"Well give me a ring back Nev and go back to sleep."

"Whenever I have something I'll give you a call."

"Bye Neville."

The click of the phone and an empty drone left Harry watching the parking lot. All he could do now was wait. He had to wait for time to pass so Bobby could get to Meridian to destroy what ever the dark item was, and to get back. He had to wait for Neville to see if he came up with any wizards or witches who were exiled around the time he was. With a huff Harry stood up and walked back into the room, to see Sam and Dean both sitting, both waiting.

"I called Neville." Harry gave an awkward scratch to the back of his neck. "He's going to look up exiled witches and wizards for me, then give me a call back to let me know what he found out. Could be a couple of days."

"Thought you were making phone calls" Dean pointed out, stressing the plural on calls. Harry looked up.

"No, I figured out I don't have anyone but Neville to call over there, or even want to try to get into contact with for information."

"Right." Dean mumbled as he flopped onto his back.

"If it makes you feel better I wouldn't be able to call anyone but Bobby or Dean." Sam gave a shrug and sat Indian style on the floor, leaning against Dean's bed looking up at Harry.

"Okay, well this is pathetic. We've got a couple of hours to kill before Bobby gets back, so lets get some chow and head to a bar." Dean sat up excited and pulled his boots on.

The food was less than spectacular and the bar was a hole in the wall kind of place that made Dean's entire face light up when he spotted it and parked the Impala far enough away from the four wheel drives. As they headed towards the beige painted brick building they could hear the gaudy music and the smell of cigarettes filtering out the doors as someone stepped out. The blacked out doors stated the name of the place, Somewhere Else.

Dean gave Harry and Sam a sly grin and headed for the bar as cigarette smoke, spilt alcohol, and a raunchy blues song assaulted them when they passed through the glass doors. Harry watched as Dean briskly ordered two bottlenecks and passed one on to Sam and then headed towards the pool tables. Harry slid between cowboy hat and too much cleavage ordering a double whiskey, clean and a purple haze then spotted Sam. He had managed to get a table in a corner facing the door and Dean. Harry walked over, savoring the harsh burn of the whiskey and sat next to Sam.

"Didn't take you as a whiskey guy." Sam commented as he took in the glass in Harry's hand.

"I like it." Harry glanced at Sam. "Bar's aren't really your thing?"

"It's Dean's. I just make sure he doesn't get himself in trouble."

"Maybe if he didn't hustle so obviously." Harry gestured with his empty whiskey glass. Dean had been losing horribly, and then as soon as a new game had started and bets were made he was a pro. "False sense of security, he make them think they're going to win, but if you show you're a little worse then they are, there's always more money in it. You can play longer before they catch on to you. That's if they catch on to you." Harry gave Sam a wink as he sipped on his beer.

"Yeah." Sam took a long pull from his beer and set it empty on the tabletop.

"Getting another, you want one?"

"Sure another Purple Haze?" A nod from Sam and Harry watched as people automatically moved out of Sam's way as he pushed through the crowd at the bar and Harry noticed all the people watching Sam. Harry felt a surge of jealousy ricochet through his chest.

These people shouldn't be looking at Sam like he was dessert. Sam wasn't theirs. He was Harry's. The shaggy hair, bronzed skin, strong jaw line, all the smooth skin hidden beneath the layers of shirts Sam piled on, and those jeans that Harry could only begin to imagine what they encased, it was his.

"Whoa." Harry whispered out loud, music drowning him out. He gulped the rest of his beer down and licked his lips clean then stared at his hands lost in thought.

"Whatever they did to you, they said they're sorry." Sam said putting a chilled bottle of Purple Haze in Harry's hands and Harry thanked Merlin that it was dark because he was probably five shade of red.

"So what did you do, for fun?" Sam asked while they watched people gravitate towards Dean and his beer bottles begin to accumulate on the shelf next to the pool tables.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, while you weren't hunting, when you first got to Louisiana?"

"I read books, bar hopping." Harry shrugged. "Nothing exciting.

"Bar hopping?" Harry gave a weak smile at the shock in Sam's voice.

"Drowned my sorrows Sam." Harry took in the proximity of he and Sam and swallowed as he resisted the urge to reach out, to brush a hand against the stubble gracing Sam's jaw. It was the alcohol talking. "What about you?

"It was law. I studied law, and Jess brought me out. But after she was killed I lost any interest I had in law."

"Jess?"

"Yeah, she was my almost fiancé. I suppose. She died just like my mom." Sam rubbed his eyes. "Pinned to the ceiling, bleeding, and blue white fire." Sam stood abruptly and headed for the bathroom. Harry chanced a glance towards Dean and saw a grimace of concentration as he lined up his shot so Harry followed after Sam and into the grime of the men's restroom. Sam was washing his face off.

" You okay?" Harry asked when Sam looked at him in the mirror.

"It's my fault."

"What's your fault Sam?"

"My mom dying, Jess dying. The demon blood that is in me. I'm what the demon's where after, it's what got them killed." Sam brushed passed Harry and through the bar and into the parking lot. Sam sunk against the side of the Impala.

"Do you really believe that?" Harry asked as he looked down at Sam's folded form.

"Yes." Sam answered as if everything were simple.

"Then you are an idiot." Harry sat shoulder to shoulder with Sam. "I used to believe Sirius, my Godfather, died because of me. I used to believe Draco died because I couldn't save him. Demons are vile creatures, and they will do anything they can to tear you down, to pull you apart from those you love, from what makes you whole. They isolate you, manipulate you and kill you. But none of that was your fault, you were six months old Sam." Harry knocked his shoulder against Sam's. "You tried to save Jess, you had to have tried knowing you. You've got a saving people thing. But the world, it's a hard place to live in and it's one fucked up place. It wasn't my fault, and it isn't your fault that the people you love and care about died."

"Then why does it feel this way?" Sam whispered searching Harry's eyes.

"Because you are Sam Winchester, and you're still standing." Harry stood up, hand out for Sam waiting. He watched as Sam grabbed hold and unfolded himself and pulled Harry into a hug.

"You are a shitty motivational speaker." Sam mumbled causing Harry to laugh.

"I tried." Harry clapped Sam on the back and smiled. "Let's head back in before Dean realizes we're missing." Harry headed back towards the bar and was almost there when he realized Sam wasn't next to him and he stopped.

"I know." Sam said as he caught up. "About you liking Dean, and I'm okay with that." Harry rubbed a hand over his mouth and nodded.

"Okay." Harry opened the door and gestured for Sam to head in first, breaking up the clouds of cigarette smoke to see Dean sitting in their vacated table sipping on a Bud.

"Where you two been?" Dean raised his voice over the music.

"Needed some air." Harry took the stool next to Dean. "How'd pool go?" Harry took in the grumpy players across the room and Dean's smile taking that as a good sign. "Alright, I'm going to grab another beer, you want anything?" After twin headshakes saying no, Harry shuffled up to the bar, grabbed another chilled bottle when he heard the distinct scrape of a chair against the sticky bar room floor and raised voices coming from the table he just left.

"Your guys are about to get their ass's handed to them." The bartender shouted as Harry took a swig of his beer and slammed it on the lacquered bar top. Harry made a quick assessment of the four men surrounding Dean and Sam. They were built, but it was gym built, they probably hadn't any ideas how to use the muscles they had. Just for show. Harry gave a grin to the bartender. "You'd think so mate." As Harry maneuvered through the throng of people who gathered closer he noticed the skull tattoo the bald guy had on his head and was hollering at Dean. Then there was another he had already labeled tiger face from the tiger tattoo on the side of his cheek and Sam had towered over him.

"You lost, not my fault." Dean was chest to chest with tattoo skull now, and the two friends were leaning against the wall, back up.

"Problem?" Harry asked, momentarily breaking the tension and getting a bark of laughter from tattoo skull as one of his friends with a vest on pushed away from the wall and circled Harry.

"Can't take the fact he lost." Dean shot a smirk towards Harry.

"Didn't lose if you cheated." Tattoo skull growled.

"Really?" Dean threw out. "And how did I cheat?"

"Hustling, a day's worth of wages around here. Ain't right. That's cheating no question about it."

"Then you shouldn't have wagered." Harry supplied and gestured for the exit, hoping for no bloodshed. The subtle shift of feet towards the door and the only guy who interfered was vest guy, and he stopped Harry with a hand on the bicep causing Harry to pause, fury burning.

"You're going to want to let me go mate." Harry took in the beard, the good four inches and the muscle the guy had on him, but it didn't stop him. "I may be a small bloke, but you'll be wanting to let me go. Right now."

"I think not." His accent was thick and his grip grew tighter.

"You are making a mistake." Harry noticed the fury rolling off Sam and Dean in waves.

"No, boy. You're the ones making the mistake." That tattoo skull growled from behind Harry. A small step forward from both Winchester's and Harry wrenched his arm away and landed a right hook hard enough to stun vest guy and turned on tattoo skull.

"A mistake?" Harry landed a jab to his nose, hearing the distinctive crunch and watched as tattoo skull raised a hand to the gushing nose after a moment the guy pulled out with a hook to the side of Harry's jaw and Harry switched into battle mode. Jabs, hooks, and upper cuts, left the guy spitting blood and sweating at the maneuvered around tables. Harry grabbed him around the shoulders, and delivered a diagonal knee thrust to the chest. Tattoo skull rolled onto the ground and curled into him self. Harry looked up at Sam and Dean.

Sam was panting and Dean appeared to be enjoying every moment of the fight. They worked well together, watching out for each other as they fought. Changing opponents, throwing them for a loop. Striding over Harrying kicked the back of the knee of tiger face, locking an arm around his neck Harry whispered a sleeping spell into his ear then aimed one at Dean's opponent. Harry tugged both Sam and Dean free of the crowded bar and out of the parking lot laughing.

"Wow. Where did you learn that?" Dean asked Harry as they piled into the Impala. "You took those guys out."

"You pick things up here and there." Harry smirked and after ten minutes they heard Sam snoring he couldn't help the laughter that tore from his throat.

"Too much excitement for Sammy. He really doesn't drink." Dean shook his head. "Normally he'll have one beer, but you two were knocking them back." Dean parked the Impala right outside their room. "Help me lug him into the room." Dean popped the door open and Harry made sure Sam didn't tumble out onto the gravel. They were each under an arm and they staggered beneath Sam's weight.

"God, he's heavy." Harry mumbled.

"Try doing this on your own, and when he's conscious he's grumpy and calls people short. So you're lucky." Dean smiled and the dim lamp light caught the sheen of sweat on across his face making it seem like he glowed and Harry's heart stuttered and he licked his lips.

"Right." Dean nudged the door open with a boot and they managed to get Sam on to a bed and Harry pulled Sam's shoes off setting them at the foot of the bed then he wrestled the grimy jacket off Sam and covered him with a throw blanket and looked up to see Dean watching him.

"What?" Harry asked. Dean had the look of a predator in his eyes. It made every nerve stand on end. Harry stood an inch shorted, eyes tilted up towards Dean's.

"I know." Harry pulled his glasses off and reshaped them to sit right on his nose and he nodded. Of course Dean knew, if Sam figured it out, Dean had to know. Harry turned to leave, hand on the doorknob and foot over the salt lines when he was wrenched around and was pinned. The overload of senses was a shock to his system. The sound of the door slamming as Harry's body shoved it closed.

The rough calloused feel of Dean's hands on the curve of Harry's jaw, the taste of alcohol and inhaled cigarette smoke invaded Harry's mouth. Harry opened his eyes to see light green focused on his. Then Dean took off Harry's glasses, removed the barrier and angled his mouth for better access, brushing, biting Harry's lips.

A groan escaped from the back of Harry's throat when Dean rested a thigh between Harry's, pushing closer with a roll of his hips. Then Dean's lips traveled down from Harry's mouth. Licking and nipping until he got to the hollow between Harry's shoulder and throat when he bit down, reveling in the fact Harry's fingers dug deep into the back of his neck and his shoulders. Admiring the mark he left Dean moved back to Harry's swollen lips. "You are mine." Dean murmured against Harry's lips and Harry grinned, opening his mouth against Dean's, tasting, mapping, and teasing.

A groan from Sam's bed made them stop and look over and Sam got up and stumbled into the bathroom. Harry pushed Dean away with a challenging smirk. "Sure, if you can say that when you're sober." Harry grabbed a pair of sweats and waited for Sam to vacate the bathroom, aware of Dean staring, and once the bathroom was empty Harry stole the shower and brushed his teeth and then transfigured a pillow into a bed and stole a pillow from Dean and transfigured some blankets.

Harry's cell phone beeped and he listened to the message. "Hey kid, it's Bobby, I'm almost back. Everything's fine, its midnight got another hour or so, stopped for fuel. I'll get a room at the motel, don't wake me up." Everything was okay for now, he could rest easy. Harry drifted off to sleep listening the sleepy breathing of the Winchester's.


	6. Chapter 6

Bright light filtered through the motel room as Harry woke up, listening to the heavy snores coming from both Winchester's. Sitting up Harry grimaced, feeling like he was run over by a pack of rabid hippogriffs. The smell of stale cigarettes that lingered on both Sam and Dean's clothing made his stomach roll. Harry hoped he had a vial or two of hangover potion. Potion remedies, on of the reminders of his old life he didn't mind having around. Harry crawled towards the end of his cot and pulled his duffle towards him and dug through the side pockets, finding two full vials. Just enough for three doses of hangover cure. Harry sipped his own portion from the glass vial and waited as the headache and nausea receded and then he made his way into the bathroom to pour the remaining amounts into paper cups for Sam and Dean. Harry placed the cups on either side of the nightstand and couldn't help the blush as he looked at Dean.

Harry wondered if he would even remember the kiss or if it was the mixture of alcohol and endorphins from the fight pumping through Dean's system that provoked him into such an action. Whatever the reason, Harry could wait and figure it out. So he rolled onto his stomach on the cot and waited for Bobby or either brother to wake up. But by the way they were breathing, and haven't moved since falling asleep, Harry was betting on Bobby.

The heavy knocks from the door caused both the Winchester's to jerk up from their sleep and give simultaneous groans of pain.

"Rise and shine boys!" Bobby's muffled voice filtered through the door and Harry pushed aside his blanket and got up to unlocked the door and let Bobby in. Bobby took in the bruise on the side of Harry's face and smelled Dean and Sam's clothing with a grimace.

"Fun at the bar I'm assuming?" Bobby pulled a chair around to face the two beds and Harry's cot. "Good thing I didn't bring breakfast." His voice was steadily rising as he spoke. "Eggs, greasy bacon, maybe some sausage."

"Bobby, why so loud?" Dead asked, eyes closed against the sunlight and hands covering his ears. Bobby gave Harry an evil grin and walked over to the flimsy curtains.

"Bobby." Sam managed a half growl before Bobby flung the curtains open.

"Well it's a beautiful day. Kids are at school, it ain't raining, people are dying, and we got psycho demons." Harry took pity and reached for a cup of the hangover potion and handed it to Sam and then pulled Dean's hands away from his ears and repeated the action. He watched as the brothers drank what was in the cups, no questions asked and when Dean registered the taste he made to spit it out and Harry cupped the bottom of his jaw closed.

"Trust me. You'll feel better in a few minutes, just drink it." Harry registered the panic in Dean's eyes. "It's a hangover cure. Tastes like shit for a reason."

"Just drink it Dean. I already feel better." Sam said, smacking his lips. "Not as nauseas." They watched as Dean swallowed it down and walked into the bathroom.

"Guess I should have told him that to avoid the whole panic and turning red thing." Harry muttered sheepishly as he mad to sit back on his cot but though better of it and change it back to the chair it originally was.

"Right kid." Bobby looked towards the bathroom as he heard the shower start then he looked at Sam. "Bar fights?"

"Not our fault Bobby."

"Yeah, but something sent two guys to the hospital in a coma and two others, broken ribs and one broken knee cap." Bobby shot a look at Harry. " Soon as you shower we're leaving. Setting up shop in Roulle for now."

"Really?" Harry asked.

" I got a feeling about this. Whatever is going to happen is there, and if we need to shag ass we don't need rubber leading them to the bunker before hand."

"So we just lead them to my home." Harry stated as he looked at the carpet.

"Bobby doesn't mean it like that." Sam interfered, standing without wobbling. "That stuff is amazing."

"Sounds like that to me Sam." Harry sighed. "But I know what you mean. The bunker's the only safe place, the only place that'll hold these demons."

"That' too, but you have some of the strongest wards around that motel. Have you ever wondered why hunters flock to that place?" Bobby sighed. "First time I met you kid, you were cleaning the mirrors with a holy water mixture. That's when I knew you were different, sneaky bastard, but your figured out ways to protect your people. And that's what we need."

"Okay Bobby." Harry was interrupted as Dean came out of the bathroom, towel slung low on his hips and Harry fought to not stare, but the quick glance at the toned flesh and the flush that graced Dean's chest moving upwards towards his cheeks told Harry that he was caught admiring the view. Dean coughed and grabbed his bag and headed back into the bathroom muttering about forgetting his clothes, slamming the door behind him.

"So." Sam clapped his hands together, breaking the silence. "Want to tell us about those demons Bobby?"

Bobby was looking at Harry as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle and gave a small, "Huh." Then he looked at Sam. "After you shower. Harry and I are going to get breakfast, you and Dean pack everything while we're out." Bobby stood waiting for Harry.

"Let me change my pants at least." Harry grabbed his last clean pair of jeans and changed in front of Bobby and Sam, shoved his feet in his boots, and snatched his jacket and followed Bobby out the room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride in the Chevelle was awkward. First off, Harry always drove, and now Bobby was driving and he wasn't saying a damn thing to Harry.

"So what's for breakfast?"

"A diner up here. We'll pick up something, eat at the motel then head out."

"Okay, that's good. More privacy to talk." Harry nodded to himself and waited as Bobby ran in and ordered a couple of trays of food and some coffee, handing it all over to Harry, making it next to impossible to move without spilling something.

"So Draco, he was your guy?" Bobby's grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"What?"

"Look, you told me you were a wizard, and I still don't understand that all the way. But you couldn't tell me this?"

"Tell you what?" Harry figured out what Bobby was getting at but played dumb, it felt like an attack.

"I see the bite mark on your neck you idjit. Whichever Winchester gave it to you, I don't give a rat's ass, and he can tell me when he's ready. But you kid." Bobby wiped his mouth. "We keep track of each other, you gave me a damn 'Happy Christmas' gift, figured my birthday out and showed up." Bobby glanced at Harry, hurt evident in his eyes. "Thought you trusted me."

"I do Bobby, but seventy-four shot glasses? I didn't think you trusted me." Harry watched as buildings passed by. "I was already a freak Bobby, I didn't need to add another reason to the list." Harry looked out the windshield as Bobby parked the Chevelle outside the motel room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Freshly showered and blush cleared from his face Dean walked out the bathroom to find Sam with clean clothes waiting for the bathroom.

"Where's Bobby?"

"Took Harry to get breakfast." Sam shuffled towards the bathroom. "When I'm through." Sam gestured towards the shower. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Last night." Sam answered as he shut the door to Dean's wide eyes.

With his jeans on, Sam opened the bathroom door and started to brush his teeth as and as expected Dean cam to lean against the doorframe.

"So." Dean asked as he watched Sam rinse his mouth out.

"Harry has a hickey. You happen to know anything about that?"

"No."

"Cause on my way to being sick, he seemed to be enjoying himself while getting said hickey." Sam smirked as he pulled on a tee shirt. "You plan on pretending that didn't happen."

"I don't know Sam. The guy gave me the world's greatest hangover cure, then he apologized for not explaining what it was before hand because I panicked." At Sam's raised brow Dean growled. "Yeah I was listening through the door."

"And your point is?"

" He doesn't understand how fucked up I, we, really are." Dean slid down to the floor outside the bathroom. "We're soldiers, we don't trust people, and we don't form attachments. Hell you killed that last person you had sex with Sammy." Sam rolled his eyes in attempt to make light of the situation.

"Dean, I think Harry grew up in an actual war. Plus Madison was a werewolf." Sam shrugged.

"We have monsters who are out for our blood because of our name Sam."

"The Winchester curse?" Sam smiled. "I think he understands what he is getting himself into Dean."

"He talks to ghosts." Dean pointed out and Sam nodded. "And if it's you or him, it's always going to be you Sam."

"He's not a princess in a tower Dean. Why are you fighting this?" Sam turned to face Dean. "What are you denying yourself any bit of happiness?"

"Because," Dean swallowed as he heard the Chevelle pulled up outside the room. "You want him too." Sam fell hard and looked at Dean as they head the doors to the Chevelle open and shut.

Harry popped open the door to the Chevelle and balanced the tray of coffees and bag of food in his hands as he waited for Bobby to knock on the door and one of the Winchester's to open it when Bobby turned and looked at Harry. "You're family kid." Bobby made to knock on the door and Sam had it opened before Bobby had the chance to do so.

"Great, food." Sam grabbed the coffee from Harry's hands anxiously and turned heel and set it on the table and Dean yanked the bag and started to eat. Harry and Bobby got over their situation and took in the antsy Winchesters.

"Want to tell me what the hell happened while we were out?" Bobby questioned as he grabbed a tray of food and sat on the edge of a bed, and Harry took the floor but not before whispering 'Christo'.

"Nothing." Sam answered the same time Dean answered, "Just a little revelation."

"Care to share?" Bobby asked.

"No." Sam shrugged, "It's not important."

"My ass." Dean muttered before shoveling eggs in his mouth and then looked at Bobby. "Want to share what was happening out there? Looked like a showdown between you and Harry."

"Clearing some air." Harry supplied. "Personal business between Bobby and I."

"Family stuff?" Dean stated the unspoken words.

"Anyways, about these demons." Bobby interrupted, gathering everyone's attention. "There's a certain mojo you have to have to give these guys their magic. Apparently, now just from the rumor mill, you have to have power out of the ass and have to understand something called Occlumency and Legilimency cause you have to be able to control their minds without losing yours." Bobby looked at Harry. "They have a register of who can perform those arts, that hunter you don't like is getting it."

"Bobby."

"I know you don't like it kid, but I didn't think you'd be able to get it. Having only one contact you rarely contact."

"I could tell you who was on it now." Bobby gave him a look saying, go ahead. "Five deceased, well six if you count an undocumented case, Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort. It was rumored Albus Dumbledore was able to do both, but it was never documented." Harry bit into his lip.

"So, are you going to tell me who you're lying for?" Bobby asked as he threw his trash away. "Cause to me it looks like you're covering for someone."

"Maybe this hunter of yours will tell you." Harry tossed his trash. "But you've met the guy, he's classified as deceased now too." Harry swallowed the rest of his coffee. "The only master allowed to teach it was Severus Snape, and he is dead. All known texts were burned after Riddle, so if they learned it was done illegally."

"Also, controlling these demons, it requires blood magic or sacrifice. It's done to intensify their control over the demons. You kill the creator, you cut these guys lose you might have chaos."

"They're still going to have their magic?" Sam asked as he finished packing.

"That's what we're going to believe. So we transport them to the bunker and exorcise them there, and look for the creator cause that's about all we can do right now."

"You kill their creator, you'll probably cut their source of magic off." Harry commented from where he was leaning against the foot of the bed. "Just saying, when you separate one of us from our magic we're as good as dead, so the same probably goes for them, except there probably are still demons lingering in those bodies, just with out the magic."

"Cause you don't know how to fight any other way?" Dean asked, tone mirthful.

"Most don't know any other way to fight but with their magic. But that, separating one from their core, is meant as torture." Harry shrugged and looked at Bobby. "Ready to head out?"

"Yeah, you drive kid. I don't think I can handle what ever has them in a tizzy." Harry smirked as he grabbed his duffle and brushed between the brothers standing on either side of the door bag in hand.

"I wouldn't want to ride with them either, something's up." Harry glanced at Dean and Dean ducked his head then Harry looked at Sam and Sam blushed. "Yeah, something is going on that they are keeping secret." Harry popped the trunk open and placed his bag in noticing Bobby already packed his stuff in there and got in the drivers seat.

The four-hour drive seemed to take no time with the way Bobby was flipping through the texts he had stowed away in the backseat. Researching God only knows what, and he asked Harry about different aspects of Occlumency and Legilimency. What were the differences, was the main thing Bobby wanted to know and he scribbled as Harry drove and explained the Occlumency was to block people from entering your mind and Legilimency was to plant lies and deceit. It was a way of trickery, people could delve into your subconscious, and plant dreams or even what was thought as visions to make you do irrational things. It was a dangerous and an advanced magic. You could be born with Legilimency, or have a natural affinity with Occlumency, but they went hand in hand, and only the most powerful could manage it.

About fifteen miles outside of Motel 59 Bobby looked over at Harry. "How powerful do you have to be to be able to do this stuff?"

"There are only about seven people who have ever mastered this ability. There are more than a handful of wizards and witches in Europe Bobby. They've got them in Japan, South America, Australia, and Africa, and that's all they have recorded. Granted it is a practice that is outdated, but the fact that one culture is the only that kept up with it." Harry shrugged. "It takes a lot more power and time then most people are willing to give up."

"Earlier you said six kid. Who are you protecting?" Harry rubbed a sweaty palm on his jeans and looked over at Bobby. "I get that every person on that list is deceased, but I know what's dead doesn't stay dead kid. You are proof. So if I get that list and you're on it, so help me I will kick your ass so hard you'll wake up to next Thursday. Are you on that list?"

"I had to learn it Bobby."

"Okay, that's all you had to say. We went over this. We keep track of each other. You really have some issues you need to work on." Bobby knocked his head on the glass of the window. "Just don't go putting things in my mind."

"Wouldn't even think of it Bobby. You're head's a bloody mess, just like mine and I'm terrified as to what you're hiding away in there."

"Damn straight. Now park this thing so I can get myself a room and the Winchesters can get one as soon as they pull up." Bobby growled as Harry pulled into the Motel 59 parking lot and they headed to the office building. The frogs were bellowing and crickets chirping to the moon lit sky. The bugs were singing, and Harry felt at home amongst the chaos of their song. Walking towards the glass door of the office, Harry gave a smile to Leigh as he saw her reading Dean Koontz through the glass door. The bells rang and her head shot up and she gave a smile when she saw Harry.

"Harry!" She set her book down as he leaned on the counter. "So how long are you here for?"

"I'm not sure, but tell Thibodeaux I can start cleaning tomorrow if he wants." Harry chuckled as she gave a small victory dance then stopped when she finally noticed Bobby.

"Sorry about that. Harry, why didn't you tell me that there was a customer?" Leigh was horrified.

"Its just Bobby."

"Bobby? The Bobby?" Leigh stood back up and looked Bobby up and down when a flash of headlights pulled her attention back to the parking lot. "I've heard about you. So a room?"

"Whatever you have is fine."

"I got four and five open. Take your pick." Dean opened the door, frogs and crickets bursting inside to be quieted when the door shut, and interrupted before Bobby could answer.

"He'll take five, and we'll will take four." Leigh raised a brow to Harry and he shrugged to say 'what'.

"Oh, and Harry." Leigh continued talking as the men stood huddled in the office as she made them sign the guest book. "You got flowers. About an hour ago actually. Funny how that worked out, anyways, they're sitting outside your room. Odd color though, reminded me of fire and blood." Leigh shook her head and handed over the keys and looked up to see that Harry had bolted out the office. She looked at Bobby, "Must be important flowers." It took a moment, but the hunters followed suit behind Harry.

The only sound they head was the crunch of gravel, the insects and frogs gone silent and they watched as Harry cautiously approached the flowers. "They're Blood Lilies." Harry glanced into the blank expressions of the hunters. "It's an omen of death."


	7. Chapter 7

Harry took a tentative step forward releasing the breath he had been holding when nothing happened. Then a ringing pressed against his ears, growing with intensity and the distinct cracks of apparation he hadn't heard in years made him spin around to see random people, clad in short sleeves and jeans. No cloaks or masks.

Dean, Sam, and Bobby instinctively reached for their firearms and Harry looked passed the hunters and towards Leigh in the office. She was in her own world; nothing was going to touch her there, everything was focused on them. Harry stood frozen as he watched as the first jet of red light shot out and hit Bobby. Bobby took the spell hard, falling to the ground with a grunt, and struggled to his feet to be helped up by Sam.

Dean took aim and fired at the person who shot the spell at Bobby and it didn't go down, its eyes shaded over to black. Harry leapt into motion, firing a quick incendio at the Blood Lilies canceling out the deafening ringing he had been experiencing and began firing spell after spell as he, Bobby and the Winchester's made a tight circle covering each other's backs.

"They're demons." Sam yelled over the cacophony of firearms being discharged and the bursts of light from Harry's spells.

"Hate to break it to you, but the guns aren't doing a damn thing here." Dan turned towards Harry, expecting a plan to be plucked from thin air. Watching as Harry turned and a jet of soft violet light engulfed each hunter and he turned to aim an expulso at the feet of a demon, knocking it back a few feet and onto the ground.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Harry asked as he cast a silencio on one of the more aggressive meat suits after Sam was caught with a minor cutting curse.

"More of that!" Bobby shouted, as one got close enough he swung out with the butt of his shotgun, stunning it and knocking it to the ground. Harry started the task of silencing each demon when the first demon he silenced shot an incarcerous spell at Dean, taking him to the ground.

"Temporary!" Harry yelled as he yanked his keys out of his pocket and handed them to Bobby. "Get to my room. All of you." He looked at Dean, then Sam. "It's safe there. It's why the flowers couldn't make it in the room." Before any argument could be made, Harry canceled the spell on Dean with a muted finite incantatem and made a run in the opposite direction, two of the demons followed Harry's movement.

The Winchesters were dragged by a limping Bobby into Harry's room followed by the other two demons, as one reached the concrete walkway he started trashing and screaming as if he had be doused in holy water, causing the second demon to stop and watch, calculating the risk of following.

Bobby pulled open the blinds and took in the holy sigils carved into the wooden beams on the awning as Sam asked, "What's going on out there?"

"Your boy is clever that's what." Bobby pointed up and Sam eyes followed.

"Or very paranoid." Dean piped up from Harry's bed, and at the same time Sam and Bobby took in Dean's wide eyes. "Or bat shit crazy." Dean rushed towards the door, making to pull it open to be stopped by Bobby.

"Kid knows what he is doing." Bobby winced as Harry tumbled to the ground to avoid a streak of purple flames. They watched as Harry rushed a demon and wrapped an arm around it's waist pulling it towards the Chevelle, and quickly he tossed it in the trunk with the devil's trap and repeated the action with another demon with the Impala.

"We keep weapons there Bobby." Dean muttered, arms crossed.

"Bet you keep that trunk closed and locked too." Bobby snarked back.

They continued watching as Harry dove into the Chevelle, and a mist encased the seat he was on as he, what they assumed exorcised the demon in the trunk. The black cloud that popped out of both the Impala and Chevelle when Harry released the trunks and enveloped it in a violent emerald light confirmed their thoughts. The demon howling at the concrete walkway was Harry's next target. Harry scrambled, holding his side and towards the building and shoved the demon passed the barrier and they watched as the black dust engulfed Harry and when it was gone he had a grip in the hair of the last demon.

"Who sent you?"

"Your mother. Didn't you like the lilies?" There was a fake pout on the lips of the demon as Harry dragged her towards the barrier and she began to protest, planting her feet in the gravel.

"I'll do what I did to your friends. So, where are you from?" Harry tried for a location, if he couldn't get a name, he might be able to get a round about location. Any inkling could narrow their search down.

"We aren't as dumb as you think." The demon clicked her tongue.

"Really?" Harry inched closer. "How long have you been able to move that way?"

"Oh this popping around. It's nice ain't it?" The demon bared her teeth.

"Right, so I guess if you're of no use." Harry pulled her forward, and before she hit the barrier she fired on last spell at him. Harry grasped his side as he felt the wound cut deeper. Harry swallowed down the rush of ice and pain that flowed through his veins as the black smoke dispersed and he pushed through the door to his home.

"You got a death wish on your head boy?" Bobby immediately started.

"No, but you were hit by a stunner, Sam needs stitches, and Dean is hiding something beneath that jacket and hunch." Harry kept his arm close to his side as he made his way into the bathroom to gather his supplies to stitch up Sam and broke up an icepack for Bobby. Walking back in the room Harry tossed the icepack to Bobby and then he sat next to Sam with the first aide kit.

"When did you manage to get a gash this deep here?" Harry asked with a raised brow as he took in the gash on Sam's hip that traveled below his pants.

"Damn demon got me after we turned to make the circle." Sam explained as he looked away.

"Okay." Harry swallowed. "You're going to have to lay on your side and pull your pants down a bit." Harry looked over at Dean as Sam scooted on the bed. "Going to say what's wrong with you?" Harry asked Dean as he took in Sam's hips and toned muscles. Harry tried his best to focus on cleaning the grit out of the wound with the alcohol swabs and to not think about what he would rather be doing with his hands than stitching Sam up.

"There's nothing wrong with me." Dean stood, hovering as Harry sutured the wound on Sam's hip closed. It was a neat line, six sutures. Dean gave Harry a nod of thanks and then headed into the bathroom. Harry held his hands away from himself and looked at Sam. "You're going to want to wear lose fitting pants or cover those up really well, your jeans are, um, likely to catch on the sutures."

"Thanks." Sam whispered. They sat and listened as the showered turned on and Harry huffed. "He is a normal person and used that thing called a shower curtain right? Not some weirdo that doesn't?"

"Why?" Sam tilted his head from where he was laying on the bed and watched as Harry wiggled his bloodied hands and Sam shrugged, "It should be safe."

Harry gave a knock and peeked around the door seeing the curtain around the tub and headed for the sink.

"Sammy, everything okay?" Dean's voice floated over the curtain and into the rest of the bathroom.

"I'm sure Sam's okay Dean." Harry chuckled as he heard Dean slip. "Just needed the sink to wash my hands." Harry scrubbed the grime out from under his nails.

"That couldn't wait?"

"No, not really." Harry lifted his shirt, inspecting the wound on his side and wiped the dry blood off with a cold washcloth and hissed at the contact.

"Planned on telling anyone you got ganked by a demon?" Dean asked, towel around his hips, standing next to the shower. Harry looked at the rope burns and bruising from the incarcerous spell Dean had been hit with.

"Planned on sharing that with anyone?" Harry asked gesturing at the wounds.

"It's just some bruising."

"Idiot." Harry muttered under his breath and pulled two vials out of the cabinet. "Hurts to breathe I bet? Perhaps it's hard to move around and that steam you were bathing in, liked to killed you?" Harry rolled his eyes when Dean just looked passed him and at the wall. "Put your damn pants on and I'll help you out, because Sam will worry." Harry walked out the bathroom and grabbed his first aide kit to start cleaning the wound when a pair of hands stopped him. Harry took in Dean in his sleep pants and gave a smile.

"You might be able to clean it, but your scar won't be as pretty as Sam's if you stitch this up yourself." Dean tugged at the bottom of Harry's shirt signaling Harry to take it off.

"I'd rather not. The shirt is torn well enough. I can hold it back while you suture."

"Sammy, come here!" Dean raised his voice, not taking his eyes off Harry's. "Sit next to Harry so he can prop his arm up while I play doctor." Harry placed an arm on Sam's shoulder and held his shirt up while Dean's started working, his hand on the shirt slipping.

"You are making this difficult." Dean paused.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, hand on the shirt slipping again.

"That." Dean snapped holding the needle close to Harry's side. "What are you afraid of us seeing that you refuse to take that damn shirt off so I can sew you up right?"

"If it's scars we have our fair share." Sam turned, closed to Harry's face.

"Probably that pansy ass tattoo he has." Dean interrupted. "I'll cut a chunk of it off of you, but it'll be easier if you lose it completely." Harry tugged the tee shirt off with the hand he hadn't propped on Sam's shoulder, tossing the tattered garment to the ground.

"Better?" Harry's voice low, eyes on the white walls, concentrating on breathing.

Sam took in the fleur de lis on Harry's chest, the size of a child's fist and the scaring that formed Celtic runes on the underside of the arm Harry had propped on his shoulder. The Ken run, looked like a right sided V symbolizing a fierce warrior, then there was Duir beneath it. It looked like a reversed F, for power and stability.

"I figured, when you said you had ink, you meant something like that fleur de lis. Which yeah, I get, Arthurian symbol of protection, but this. This isn't ink on your back. Those are scars." Dean's voice brought Sam's attention to Harry's back.

There were a few smooth, untouched spots. Above the waistline of his jeans, the majority of his right side was free of scars, but there small shrinking scars that time had come to heal lingering all over his back. The most prominent was the jagged lines, zig-zagging from one side, starting from his left shoulder blade and ending at a rune on his right side.

"Those runes, you carve or burn them into your skin?" Dean asked, judgment laced heavy in his words as he worked on Harry's sutures.

"Dean." Sam gave Dean a quick warning and glanced over to where Bobby had started to doze on one of the beds.

"I know that tone Sam. What's going on?" Bobby rubbed his eyes and glanced over to see Dean working on Harry.

"Harry got ganked and didn't tell anyone." Dean explained as Bobby moved to get a better look.

"So, you going to explain these scars?" Bobby gestured to the runes on his side and the jagged lines on his back.

"Wars are violent everywhere." Was Harry's muted response.

"We get that, we're kind of in a war here and now. But we're asking you about the war you keep referring to. The one that made you burn runes into the underside of your arm. The one that gives you flashbacks, the one that turned you into one of us." The frustration in Dean's voice was clears as he clipped the last suture and bandaged Harry up.

"We want to know why you made us hide in here while you took on four demons, while we had years of experience on you." Sam added.

"The runes were protections, and I only did the two under my arm. The rest were done against my," Harry searched for a better word. "Judgment. And that war I fought in, cost me my parents because I was chosen before birth to kill a man I knew nothing about. That world I saved, I didn't learn about until I was eleven and they used me until I was about twenty and then they exiled me. That war stole everything from me." Harry stood up and looked at each of the hunters. "What do you know about my type of magic? Nothing? I couldn't just let them hurt you."

"We can take care of ourselves." Dean yelled.

"Really?" Harry placed a hand on Dean's ribs and applied pressure and watched a grimace of pain cross his face. "That spell, takes about a day to wear off. That was a few minutes." Harry looked at Bobby. "That red light that hit you, could have knocked you unconscious, it's called stupefy." Harry turned on Sam. "And those six stitches, could have been my back. So you think you know what you are doing, but all you can do is shut them up and run like hell, because rock salt isn't working."

"And that purple, blue mojo you did to us?" Bobby asked.

"It's called Salvio Hexia."

"A protection spell?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, it was all I could think of at the moment, but it did its job." Harry explained it was meant for minor hexes, the entire time in his mind he was thanking Merlin that it worked on the hunters.

"So what the hell was all that about? How'd they get here?" Dean made a poof from thin air gesture that made both Harry and Sam smile.

"Apparation." Harry moved to look out the blinds. "Whoever is controlling them has been here before."

"And you know this because you can see the future?" Harry gave Dean a look that shut him up immediately.

"You either need coordinates or a clear mental imagine of where you are going. So you arm doesn't end up in a bar in Tokyo and your ass in a shack in California."

"Okay, so get the guest book, even if they used an alias chance are they'll have used something familiar or something that might give them away." Sam pointed out.

"In the morning. Right now we need rest, and Harry no more magic. You look dead on your feet boy." Bobby said as he grabbed a blanket and claimed the couch.

"Right. Well I'm not sharing with Sasquatch." Dean muttered scooting to one side of the bed he was on making room for Harry to lay next to him, hissing as he leaned to heavily on his back.

"Lean up. This will help." Harry spread the salve from the vials in his hands, and gave Dean a look. "This is for you Dean." Harry watched as Dean rolled his eyes and moved closer to Harry.

Dean inhaled at the gentle pressure of Harry's hands rubbing the salve into his skin, first near his shoulders and moving lower. Dean sighed in relief as the pressure slowly disappeared as Harry's hands massaged his skin and the burn from the spell turned for discomfort to warmth.

"Is he purring?" Sam asked from where he was sprawled on the opposite bed.

"No, I am not." Dean cracked an eye open to glare at Sam.

"So that cat like sound of content you were making, not purring. No, not at all." Sam clicked the light beside his bed off and Dean had to bite his tongue from saying anything about Sam being jealous.

"Shove over, I'm tired." Harry pushed at Dean's shoulder, claiming his side of the bed. "Night Sam, Dean."

"Night Harry, night Dean." Sam mumbled back.

"Night Sammy." Dean chuckled at Sam's sleepy response. Dean stared up at the ceiling thinking about the mess they had gotten themselves into with magical demons. Which he knew next to nothing about and he was relying on Harry for most of his information. He couldn't protect Sam or Bobby from any of those demons. He had to let Harry take the damn wheel and what made it worse was he had to hide out in Harry's room, that Harry managed to ward out that yang and he watched Harry take care of all of them. Harry stitched Sammy up, fixed his bruises, and got Bobby an icepack. What did he do? Help a limping Bobby into the room after Bobby started dragging him and Sam back? Not much.

"I guess not." Harry voice interrupted Dean's thoughts and he registered Harry leaning over him, arm stretched for the light switch when Harry took a look at Dean and Dean tried to force a wall to cover his thoughts, but Harry always was quick at reading people and Harry sat back down and searched Dean's face.

"Want to tell me what's going on in there?" Harry stole a quick glance towards both Sam and Bobby. "They're both asleep, if that helps any."

"It's nothing." Dean reached to click the light off, and Harry's snort stopped him in his tracks.

"I asked you twice to turn that light off, you didn't notice me until I was leaning over you. Something is up." Harry folded his glasses. "Put these on the table." Dean plucked them from Harry's hand, and tossed them on the table.

"It's just I'm not used to not being able to do something. That damn bullets weren't even working. What did I actually do today? Nothing but get tied up by some spell."

"You helped Bobby, sewed me up, and acted first when I froze up. You realized the rock salt wasn't working."

"Oh so much." Harry could feel the eye roll more than see it as he leaned towards Dean, fingers brushing against his stubble.

"It is, and knowing what I know of you. You'll obsess until you find a solution, and you will obsess. Be it by yourself or brainstorming with Sam." Harry watched as Dean swallowed, and then moistened his lips. "You'll find some way to beat them, some way that Bobby and I couldn't come up with. Because Winchester's are bloody brilliant." Harry brushed a thumb over Dean's bottom lip and then turned back to his side of his bed.

"And Potter's must be idiots." Dean growled as he rolled into Harry's space, mouths melting against another, breath mixing as hands brushed and gripped.

"Must be." Harry sighed into Dean's mouth before Dean rolled back onto his side of the bed and clicked the light out.

"Yeah, idiots or teases." Dean mumbled as the warmth of Harry's body lulled him into a deep sleep.

Waking up to the bright afternoon sun filtering through the open curtains wasn't something Harry was used to, nor was waking up to the incessant fingers tapping at keys of a keyboard. Harry cracked an eye open and fumbled for his glasses to see Sam engrossed in whatever he was reading, his hair still damp from a shower.

Sam, hearing the movement, looked up and gave a quick smile. "You're alive."

"What time is it?" Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up with a grimace as the stitches in his side pulled.

"A little after noon. Thibodeaux said not to worry about cleaning today, something about only one guest." Sam reached around the laptop and tossed a three-inch thick leather bound book at Harry. "Dean snagged this for you before he and Bobby left for research." Harry flipped through the pages of the book before he realized he should have recognized it as the Motel 59 guest book and closed the cover and looked back over at Sam.

"They went to do research and they didn't bring you?"

"Yeah, something about you giving him a great idea last night?" Sam looked like he wanted a long explanation, and inwardly Harry felt a bundle of heat in his stomach.

"Weapons. They're trying to figure out weapons." Harry yawned. "But they should have brought you. Research is your area." Harry pointed out and Sam hummed in agreement. "Well, you can help me figure out a way to strengthen or make anti-apparation wards." Harry wobbled out of bed and grabbed the text by S. Prince. "Start with this. You might find it interesting. I managed to break the spells and you should be able to read it." Harry opened the ratty book and hesitated where Severus had signed his alias then flipped the page. "You can read that yeah?" Harry looked at Sam's face.

"Yeah."

"Alright, if you start feeling odd I might have missed something so stop reading. Maybe you'll find something on the demons. I need a shower or something." Harry gathered clothing from the dresser and moved into the bathroom leaving Sam with the last surviving text ever compiled by Severus Snape.

Sam opened the worn book and took a moment to read the inscription on the first page. "Compiled and created by S. Prince. This is not for the faint at heart, nor those with no knowledge of what lurks in the darkest of night, preying on our souls." The next few pages were devoted to a well-crafted table of contents on different types of mythical creatures, spells, potions, and wards. Sam focused on the mythical creatures, noting the vast amount of defensive information on vampires, werewolves, ghouls, fae, ghosts, and even a small selection on demons. There were footnotes as if the author added information as he learned something new or what would and wouldn't work. Sam looked up as Harry came out the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a dark green button down that he had already rolled up to the elbows.

"Who ever he is, he is a genius."

"He was a genius." Harry gave a tight smile as he sat next to Sam. "He have anything about demons or wards?" Harry asked looking at Sam's pre-labeled notes.

"Yeah, got carried away before I actually got to the wards part though. He's a bit sarcastic." Sam flipped a few pages and skimmed to an entry where the indentions get deeper.

Crossroads Demons

Sam gave a look to Harry. "This guy either had contacts here or was exiled at some point or another. He gives locations." Sam pointed further down in the entry.

Only two known in Deep South Americas, or in large metropolis areas. Most active sites near Roulle, Louisiana and Meridian Mississippi. John Winchester killed one Crossroads Demon; the only know person to have ever completed this task.

"Might have been exiled Sam." Harry guessed. "Could always check."

"So, who is this guy?"

"Severus Snape." Harry answered and the book snapped shut and the volume of pages grew. "Whoa." Harry thumbed open the book.

"Check the table of contents." Sam stopped Harry from mindlessly flipping pages to see what had been added. Looking there were a few new topics added into the contents, Unknown Spells and Their Symptoms, Dark Lords, Important Wizards of the Second Wizarding War, Weapons.

"So secret passwords." Sam drummed his fingers on the tabletop.

"Like I said, brilliant." Harry gave Sam a blinding smile. "Let's look at the demons first, see if there's anything about magic demons hidden in there."

There was every variety of demons they could find or think of; soul-sucking demons, crossroads demons, revenge demons, spirit demons, steal-your-baby-and-it demons, but they were at a loss at any sort of magic wielding demons.

"Suppose the need didn't arise?" Sam muttered and flipped to the weapons section and began taking notes side by side with Harry. "So basically anything blessed by a holy figure, weapon wise, will do damage to a demon, as long as it's intended to do damage?" Sam asked after a half hour of the scratch of the ink of pens against paper.

"That's what I was getting from what he wrote. But what priest is going to bless a handful of shotgun shells or a machete?" Harry scratched his head. "I can see that going real well. 'Scuse us preacher sir, we're hunting demons can you bless our weapons, for us. Thanks, have a must holy day.' Right that'll work out so well." Harry chucked and Sam gave a warm laugh.

"Don't ever tell Dean, cause he'll try it." Sam paused then bit into his lip. "We actually happen to know someone."

"You're kidding me." Harry's eyes wide behind his silver rimmed glasses.

"I kid you not. His name is Pastor Jim. And he's picked up helping hunters out with getting rid of demons." Sam shifted to pull his phone out of his pocket putting him into Harry's space and Harry gripped the pen he had been holding as Sam's scent assaulted him. Sam smelled like Harry's soap and it made Harry feel a bit possessive.

"I still have his number." Sam gave Harry a smile and dialed.

"Pastor Jim? It's Sam Winchester. Yeah, we're great and Bobby's with us too. He's good. We're in Louisiana for a while, dealing with some demons." Harry listened as Sam prattled on and tuned back in when Sam said, "Well I don't know if you're able to help bless some of the weapons we use?" Harry watched as Sam tapped a pen against the paper then gave a smile. "Okay, well that's great." Sam recited his cell number and hung up with the Pastor. "So he can't, but he might have someone we can go to."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you, well we, come in contact with the strangest types of people?" Harry gave Sam a look. "I mean really? A holy man blessing weapons?"

"Whatever works, it's a network really." Harry shrugged at Sam's response. "I need to wash clothes, and you and Dean probably need to also." Harry began shoving dirty clothes into an empty bag and Sam just grabbed his and Dean's duffle. "I'll leave a note on the door for them."

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Room twelve isn't really a room, it's a laundry area from the long term renters."

"So a laundry room all for you." Sam laughed as they stuck to the concrete walkways.

"Yes all for me. And it's got the best vending machine, the only one with gummi worms and free cokes." Sam decided Harry took it upon himself to clean this space up too. The machines were the stark white you'd find in a person's home, the floors were clean and Harry knew where the remote to the television was stashed.

Harry clicked the television on to a random channel and began the process of putting his clothes in the washer. Harry paused when he realized Sam was watching him. "You can have the other two washers." Harry gestured as he measured out the detergent and set the cycle then hopped on top of the washing machine and waited for Sam to do the same.

"You brought the book?" Sam noticed as he sat on the washer next to Harry's.

"Yeah, didn't think we'd chat about unicorns and rainbows mate." Harry grinned, "Unless you want to."

"No thanks." Sam flipped to the back of the book, then to the front. "Anything you want to read in here before you start working on the wards?"

"Who'd he claim was important?" Harry asked as he leaned back to look up at the ceiling.

"Albus Dumbledore. There was a Weasley in here, but it's inked out." Harry leaned over then burst out in laughter at the Twins that greet him on the next page.

"As much as he hated those two, they were pretty important."

"Fred and George Weasley." Sam read out loud. "Greatest pranksters to grace the halls of Hogwarts." Sam switched to reading in his head then grinned. "Extendable ears, they were awesome." Sam outline what Snape mentioned in the article, the pranks they changed into vicious war maneuvers.

"Who else?"

"Uh," Sam showed Harry the pages. "You."

"Really?" Harry read over a few lines. "Just the usual rot, survived the killing curse, killed a dark lord."

"Destroyed six horcruxes, a Master Occlumens, master of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Master of Spell Weaving, wrongfully exiled." Sam added.

"Okay, maybe not the usually rot."

"Spell weaving?"

"When you create a spell you are given that titled."

"What spell did you create?" Harry gave Sam a look then hopped off the washing machine.

"I'll show you." Harry stood in front of Sam, a palm facing upwards and a warm orb of light gathered there, it slowly gathered a hue of violet and blue and Harry released it towards Sam. The light encased Sam for a moment then faded into nothingness.

"What was that?" Sam's eyes were closed and Harry placed his hands on Sam's thighs.

"How'd it make you feel?"

"Happy, relieved. It made me feel whole, and healed. It made me feel at peace."

"I never named it, or really figured out it's purpose, besides the fact it made the few people who have ever experienced it feel at peace and it was the one and only spell that killed Voldemort." Sam's eyes shot open. "It was the hope and love that created the spell Sam. It wasn't intended to harm or kill." Harry rubbed his neck and set his hand back on Sam's thigh. "How it killed him, I'm not sure. But I was losing."

"Who else has felt that spell?"

"The man who wrote this book when he was dying, and Draco."

"Thank you." Sam whispered, raising a hand to Harry's cheek, thumb brushing against Harry's smile.

"Just remember Sam, when times are dark, even with the demon blood inside you, you are still good." Sam tilted his head in confusion, but the buzz signaling the end of the washer's cycle had Harry stepping away from Sam and moving his laundry to the dryer and starting a load of darks, Sam following suit with his and Dean's clothes.

"Wonder what they are up to?" Harry asked Sam.

"Who knows what those two have gotten themselves into." Sam gave an uncomfortable scratch to the back of his neck as he sat back on top of the washing machine.

"Can I ask you something Harry? And you don't have to answer it at all if you don't want to." Sam started fiddling with the buttons on his dark navy shirt.

"Okay?" Harry sat on the opposing dryers, taking in Sam's anxiety.

"I know, well, you and Dean. Shit, just give me a second." Sam was trying to get the words out. Trying to ask Harry what he felt about Dean, because Harry was sending some mixed signals. The hickey was an obvious indicator he was attracted to Dean. Then where Sam got confused was the way Harry kept touching him, not Dean, the way a lover would. Okay, Harry acted that way towards Dean also, but Sam wanted that.

"Sam." Harry interrupted his thoughts.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"So, I know Dean gave you that." Sam pointed towards Harry's neck.

"Okay." Harry looked towards the ground.

"But what I'm trying to say is you're sending mixed signals."

"I can't help it Sam." Harry mumbled after a few minutes. "I'll try to cut down the touching to a minimum. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's not that." Sam felt Harry's piercing gaze on his skin, it was hot, and it made it difficult to breathe. Sam pulled at the collar of his shirt and listened to the hum of the dryers.

"You're going to have to spell it out here Sam. I'm not going to make assumptions, not with this." Harry slid off the dryer he was sitting on and leaned against it. "Because I'm pretty sure that you and Dean, this is the future Holiday was telling me about, and I'm not losing it." Harry watched as Sam slipped from the washer and started towards him. Harry watched as each emotion, each thought crossed Sam's face as he began to process what Harry was saying.

"Dean knows." Sam said as he leaned next to Harry.

"Knows what Sam."

"That I'm attracted to you."

"Okay, and now you know that I'm attracted to you both." Harry chuckled at the blush on Sam's face.

"He's possessive, and he won't like it."

"I'm possessive, and I'm getting the feeling that you're possessive." Harry pointed out.

"He'll try to say we're better for each other."

"But that won't happen will it?"

"No."

"Okay then."

"He'll say it'll make us weak. That during the hunt we won't be thinking right. He'll tell you that I always come first."

"Of course you do, you're his brother. And we'll deal with the hunting thing when it happens."

"Okay. So how do we tell him?" Sam asked and Harry shrugged.

"You're the Winchester, you figure it out. But I'd say, whatever way you pick it better be slow cause it's going to freak him out. Me liking both Winchester's, and them liking me. It's a nice little sandwich we got going on here." Harry smirked and grabbed the book, "But I really need to figure these wards out, cause they aren't going to figure themselves out."


	8. Chapter 8

Figuring out the wards out was easier said than done. Sure, there were guidelines, but most of the wards outlined in the book were potions based. Harry had nowhere near the skill level required to brew the mentioned potions. So the rest of the time their clothes were tumbling in the dryer, Harry flipped back and forth trying to get some idea of what spells he could use to start setting up the wards around the motel.

The buzz signaling that their clothes had dried pulled Harry from his thoughts. As he set to folding his clothes, Sam rolled his own and Dean's stuffing them in the duffle.

"Ready?" Sam questioned as he zipped the bag closed.

"Yeah." Harry nudged the door open with a boot only to discover that Dean and Bobby were on the other side.

"So you decided to play Susie Homemaker while we were out?" Dean asked, as he grabbed the bag from Sam and turned towards Harry's room.

"Research also," Sam muttered through his teeth as they walked back to Harry's room.

"Well, we figured out the solution to the weapons, for the non-magical folk." Dean said, throwing a grin Harry's way.

"Yeah, and what did you figure out?" Harry asked as he cast a quick look at Sam before placing his folded clothes away.

"Blessed weapons. Bobby's got a guy. He's going to take stuff out little by little."

"Told you that you'd find something," said Harry as he sat down next to Bobby.

"Of course I did."

"So when are you heading out?" Harry asked Bobby.

"About an hour. I'll be back tomorrow. Get anywhere with those wards yet?"

"Not really." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, we found something else." Both Sam and Harry swung around at the matter of fact tone Dean used.

"You give him sugar Bobby?" Sam's question elicited a chuckle from Harry.

"No," said Bobby as he readjusted his hat. " He's just excited he figured something out."

"Right."

"Shut it, Sammy."

"What did you find?" Harry interrupted before the brothers could start fighting.

"A crossroads." Dean plucked their father's journal off the table. "And we might know how to get rid of it." Dean finally noticed the look Harry and Sam were sharing.

"What's with the face?" Bobby commented.

"This crossroads, is it right outside of Roulle?" Sam flipped through the text he and Harry had been studying all afternoon.

"Yeah, where else?"

"Well, you might want to read this. Can I read what Dad wrote?" Sam and Dean switched books. Sam began flying through the words and Dean absorbed what was written in the Prince book.

"So, can I read that?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the leather bound journal. "Or is it off limits?"

"Uh, here." Dean responded, gingerly sliding it across the table.

"Dad says to give it a deal it can't refuse, but this is playing with fire Dean." Sam was tempted to slam the book shut while Harry was still reading it.

"I agree with Sam on this one, Dean. Leave it be, there's nothing we can do. Crossroads Demons, they're smart and they'll trick you into anything if they can."

"But Harry's magic book said Dad got rid of one. We can figure it out, too." Dean stood, backing away to look at each of the men in the room.

"This isn't a good idea, Dean. We need to think first." Sam stood up, pacing. "Where is the crossroads? By a bar or a hotel?"

"Old shack, overgrown weeds all over the place." Bobby interjected before Dean could make up a story to get the boys to follow him out there. "Pretty deserted."

"So, just do research for any dog attacks and such for the past few decades," said Sam, "But we are not going out there, Dean. We aren't Dad."

"I know that Sammy." Dean snapped at Sam.

"Sometimes I don't think you do." Sam stepped into Dean's space. "Always fighting, and you're always looking for the next hunt. You never take a break."

Harry could see Dean struggling with his need to follow in his father's footsteps, to continue hunting the supernatural. While Sam was trying his hardest to burst out from behind his father's shadow and trying to get Dean to listen to reason. Each brother was yelling but Harry had lost track on what they were yelling about. Ttheir faces were red from anger and their hands were forceful and full of blame. Harry glanced over at Bobby, taking in his tense shoulders hidden beneath the vest and his teeth grinding against each other. Whatever was going to come from this argument was not going to be good, especially by the way Sam looked almost ready to back off from his end of the argument.

Harry sent Bobby a look, signaling to meet him outside. They slipped out while the brothers stood toe-to-toe arguing over John Winchester and whether or not they had any chance of getting rid of the crossroads demon or not.

"What is it?" Bobby asked. "It's not safe leaving those two in there like that. Something or someone is bound to get broke." Harry flicked his wrist and the door was locked from the outside.

"We're heading to the crossroads. I've got a notice-me-not spell that'll send non-magical people away." Harry tossed his keys to Bobby. "This way, they work that out, they won't do anything stupid, and…" Harry said with a shrug, leaving the thought unfinished as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"And what?" Bobby prompted.

When Harry didn't answer, Bobby slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. "Damn it, Harry, I will stop this car and throw you to two very pissed off Winchesters, and what?"

"And if something happens they'll each still have their brother, and they'll still have you." Harry jerked hard against the seatbelt as Bobby stopped the brakes. "And bloody hell, I trust you to shut me up if I get to talking."

"Christ on a bicycle. Why couldn't you have just said that in the first place?" Bobby eased off the brakes of the Chevelle and started driving again.

"Could you drive faster? That spell won't last for long and I don't know who that demon is going to end up looking like." Harry wanted to groan as he felt the Chevelle slow then resume it's speed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The distinct click of the door locking silenced both Winchesters as they turned towards the door. After a moment of standing and staring at the door, the muffled sound of the Chevelle starting sent both Sam and Dean fumbling for the door, twisting the doorknob finding them stuck inside the room.

"Dean, we need to get out there before they leave us." Sam stood watching Dean twist and turn the doorknob, yielding no results.

" Yeah, well you try genius." Dean kicked at the door as he switched spots with Sam, watching in amusement as his brother failed just as he had moments before. "Harry probably locked us in here, Sam."

"Well what do you want me to do about that Dean?" Sam threw his hands in the air. "I can't pick the lock from here." Sam watched as his brother's face lit up and looked towards the windows.

"Wonder if he thought about the windows." Sam grinned and they both bolted for the window. Dean shoved the curtains out of the way and Sam unlocked the window and lifted it up.

"You first, Sammy." Dean placed a hand underneath the window while Sam slipped awkwardly out the window followed by Dean.

"So, they're going to the crossroads?" Sam asked as they peeled out of the parking lot.

"No doubt, Sam. Why they decided to go without us," Dean shot a quick look to Sam, "I don't really know. Harry didn't tell you anything earlier while you were reading about this?"

"Not a thing." Sam tapped his fingers against his leg as AC/DC filtered through the Impala.

"So why did he go, and why did he have to lock us in his damn room again?"

"Cause he's Harry." Sam shrugged and watched as the dark outlines of the pine trees passed by.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So explain this to me kid: why do you actually have to summon the demon?"

"The safest way is to cast the spell on the demon itself, so there's no chance of it relocating and it being noticed. Thus, I need to summon it."

"The safest way would be to spell the location but you don't give a rat's ass about yourself, or those boys."

It was silent after that. Harry placed the items he needed in a tin box and added his picture just as they parked at the crossroads.

"So you hear the Impala, you make sure they stay back." Harry instructed Bobby, giving him a small smile as he stepped into the crossroads. He listened as the dirt crunched under his boots. He dug a hole with his hands in the center of the crossroads, placed the box in it, and buried it. Harry stood, brushed his hands off and waited.

"Remember, it's just a suit kid, all for show. It's not a person."

"I know that, Bobby."

If Harry hadn't heard the footsteps, he would have felt the energy. Catching Bobby's reaction made Harry turn around. Seeing the white blonde hair he hadn't thought he'd ever glimpse at again made Harry falter. Harry followed the pale skin to the gray eyes, to the white button down, and the trousers that even appeared to have been tailored.

"Hello, Harry, it's good to see you." Harry hadn't heard or seen him in so long. He felt the demon circling him and even the smell even reminded Harry of him. "We've heard a lot about you from, very reliable sources from what I've come to understand."

"You aren't him."

"Pity, I know, but Draco Malfoy does wear so well." Harry watched as the imitation tilted its head and smirked. He heard the distinct roar of the Impala. "But I think your Winchester would like to see him in person. But you've changed, perhaps moved on? Anyways, you brought me here for a reason. So, what can I do for you, Harry Potter?"

"Harry." Bobby growled out a warning as two car doors slammed.

"I'll give you a few more moments, but those two are not to be trusted," the Draco imitation sneered, nodding towards Sam and Dean. "What can I do for you?" Harry moved to speak but Dean beat him to it.

"Nothing you son of a bitch."

The demon clicked his tongue, and looked at Harry and smirked.

"Do you know why we look this way? It's what you desire; it is how we seal our deals, with a kiss. Before we were interrupted, I was saying you had moved on, you have, haven't you?" Dark mirth entered his eyes and the demon began to morph. It was quick, but the Draco imitation was replaced by an imitation of Dean. "So much different than Draco Malfoy." The demon shook its shoulders out.

"Harry, you better do something before these idjits do," Bobby growled and Harry flicked his hand at the demon and then the tin box.

"What did you do to me?" The demon's voice grew higher, and then slowly it began to fade away as the contents in the tin box turned to ash.

"If you were still Draco you might know." Harry turned towards the Chevelle and caught Sam's eyes. They were filled with loss. Harry glanced at Dean's dumbfounded face and headed for the Chevelle.

"What the fuck was that?" Dean shouted, arm outstretched to where the demon had been standing.

"That was Harry making sure you didn't do anything stupid." Bobby smacked Dean across the chest with his hat and looked at where Harry had sat down on the trunk of the Chevelle.

"The platinum blonde, that was Draco, in the flesh so to speak?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yeah, that was him alright." Bobby nodded towards Harry. "Thought the kid was going to lose it, just stared at it for a while until you two got here."

"Should we go talk to him?" Sam asked Bobby.

"Give him a minute." Dean answered before Bobby could and scratched the back of his neck. "Just let him get his shit together. What do you mean, making sure we didn't do anything stupid?" Dean rounded on Bobby and regretted it as soon as Bobby stood at his full height.

"Boy, you don't want to get me started with the stupid things you've gotten yourself into."

"You're right. Sorry Bobby." Dean gave a slight step backwards. "So what exactly did Harry do?" Dean asked looking around.

"You could just ask me. I am here you know." Harry had his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. "I cast a notice-me-not spell on the demon. People without magic should just pass right by wherever that demon is."

"When did you cast it? Cause we saw it until you destroyed the tin." Sam pointed out.

"You'll always be able to see them Sam." Harry shrugged. "It's the demon blood in you. You may not like it but you'll always be able to see things like that."

"Okay," Sam rubbed a hand over his face. "I can understand that, but what about Dean and Bobby?"

"My only guesses are, they already knew it was there and since they found it, they can see it. Also, perhaps it's because they're hunters?" Harry scratched his arm. "I'd bet on because they found it they'll always know where this particular crossroads demon is."

"Alright, now that this hen party is over, I need to head out." Bobby pulled out the keys to the Chevelle he had pocketed earlier. "You mind if I take your car kid?"

"As long as these two don't murder me."

"Okay, Dean give me whatever weapons I can take from the Impala and Harry if you have any in the Chevelle I'll take care of those too." Dean loaded up the Chevelle with a few tactical knives and some ammo, "The other stuff's at the motel."

"I can make another trip, that was the plan."

"Be careful, Bobby." Harry said as Bobby clambered into the Chevelle.

"You three try not to get into trouble before I get back tomorrow." Bobby shut the door after getting nods from each hunter and pulled away from the crossroads.

"So how'd you lock us in the room?" Dean asked as they piled into the Impala.

"A spell."

"Next time, don't do that." Dean glanced back in the rearview mirror at Harry.

"Yeah, it's not very nice." Sam chimed in.

"At all."

"So, the spell either wore off, or you two figured out another way out of the room?" Harry asked.

"We're not telling you. The next time you'll remember." Sam answered and Harry could feel the smile more than he could see it in the dark.

"So that was Draco?" Dean asked as they pulled into the city limits. "I mean that's what he looked like."

"Yeah, that's what Draco looked like, up close and personal."

"Interesting." Dean murmured and Sam smacked him in the back of the head. "I mean," Dean parked the Impala, "You two had the whole ebony and ivory thing going on." Dean gestured towards his hair. "Then the whole dark and light side thing."

"You're a right git, you know that?" Harry said through his laughter.

"Yeah, but you both love me for it." Dean smacked Sam on the chest. "Don't deny it Sammy, you love me with that big ole girly heart of yours." Dean and Sam moved aside for Harry when they got to his door, waiting for Harry to open it.

"What did you two do?" Harry paused before opening the door, eying them suspiciously.

"Just figured you'll be able to open the door." Dean shoved his hands in his pockets. Harry turned the doorknob and opened the door, holding it open for both Sam and Dean to enter before him. Harry glanced around the room searching for broken items when he saw the silent communication going on between the two. Harry followed Sam's eyes towards the window and smirked.

Striding over towards the window Harry pulled the curtains to the side and locked the window. "Didn't think of that."

"So we got to talk about this hero complex you have." Sam spoke from where he settled on the spare bed and was lying flat on his back.

"Yeah, cause, it pisses us off being locked up in your room. Especially when we know a little bit about this stuff." Dean was lying on his stomach on Harry's bed. Harry decided to sit in between the beds and both brothers shifted so they could see him better.

"It's not something I can just turn off. People depended on me for so long." A warm hand landed on his shoulder that Harry immediately recognized as Dean's, and then a larger hand landed on his arm, Sam.

"We aren't people," Dean responded.

"We just depend on having each other's backs," Sam finished the thought for Dean.

"Guess I'll have to work on that." Dean ran his fingers through Harry hair.

"Yeah, you will, cause you're pissing Bobby off." Dean rolled off the bed. "I call the shower." Harry and Sam watched as Dean claimed the bathroom first again.

"He always does that doesn't he?" Harry asked Sam.

"Get used to it." Sam shrugged rolling on his back to stare up at the ceiling, his head on the edge of the bed. Harry leaned against the bed, his head next to Sam's. Harry breathed in Sam's scent, the citrus from Harry's soap, hidden beneath the oils from the guns that were cradled and cleaned meticulously and the leather from the Impala. Feeling Sam's breath on his temple Harry turned to look Sam in the eye.

"So no more running and leaving us behind?"

"I'll try my best, Sam." Harry closed his eyes as Sam touched his forehead to Harry's temple.

"Good." Harry felt the words murmured against his cheek and sighed. How he managed to get himself into these messes he never really understood. One minute he was sure of himself, then the next he was lost. It was a talent of his. It wasn't that he was struggling with his attraction to the Winchester's. It was more of seeing Sam's reaction to seeing the demon change from Draco to Dean. Then seeing Draco, even though it really wasn't Draco. Then what about Bobby? Merlin, what would Bobby think of all this.

Harry stood up and looked at Sam and then at the closed bathroom door. "I'm going to the office, I need to talk to Thibodeaux. I have my phone if you need me." Harry grabbed his phone as he headed for the door. "Make sure to re-salt the doors and windows." Harry headed for the office, hoping for a little bit of clarity after everything that happened during the day.

The office was empty as Harry expected it to be, so he took the stool behind the counter hostage and chuckled at the note Leigh had written out. "Missing: Motel 59 Guest Book, where have you gone to? Harry, could you please find me?" That served as a reminder to actually look through the book and return it as soon as possible. Thibodeaux would be pissed the book had gone missing in the first place. The guest book was a relic. It had years worth of guests logged in that thing. It probably even had Dean's fake rock alias's in it when he first stepped foot in Roulle.

"What are you doing up here, thought you were sick?" Thibodeaux stepped out from the back. "Or was that fella who answered your phone more than a friend? Noticed those rooms aren't really being used."

"I'm kind of beat up here Thibodeaux, got some nice sutures. Doc told me to take it easy today."

"Can see that. You should be more careful, could tell there was a scuffle around your room."

"I'm sorry."

"I know that. You aren't like most of the others that blow through here." Thibodeaux pulled up a chair next to Harry. "So what are you thinking about that you needed to escape?"

"Just the trouble I always seem to get into." Thibodeaux clapped Harry across the back. "Leigh called this one, said something was different about you when those boys and Bobby showed up."

"She tell you about Bobby?" Harry asked, curious to see what Thibodeaux knew of the hunter.

"That he's shorter and older than she thought he'd be, but mainly ya'll reminded her of family." Thibodeaux shrugged. "If she's right about the family part, whatever's going on in that crazy head of yours they'll stick by you, even when you think they won't."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Thibodeaux moved the chair back. "Just got to make sure my rooms get cleaned tomorrow. Go to bed, it's late."

"In a few." Harry nodded good night to Thibodeaux and watched as lone cars passed by the motel and down the empty highway. Pushing away from the counter, Harry made a mental list of things he needed to do tomorrow as he headed back to the room. He needed to look over the guest book, and he definitely needed to work on the wards. Opening the door, Harry took in the Winchester's on opposite beds. Harry decided he needed to figure out if he was going to say anything to Bobby or just go with the flow with the entire situation.

"You okay?" Dean asked, hair still damp from the shower.

"Yeah, you had us worried." Sam said, sitting on top of the sheets of the bed, towel drying his hair.

"Yeah, just thinking. I'm going to grab a shower, and I want a bed. This is my room that you've taken hostage. I'm not sleeping on the couch." Harry pulled open a drawer, gathering sleep pants and a tee shirt and headed for the bathroom.

Harry walked out with his glasses in his hand, waiting for the fog to disperse from the lenses and looked at the brothers. They were still on the same beds when he left for the shower but Sam was reading the Prince book and Dean was flipping through the channels on the television. Harry shook his head and set his alarm clock so he could actually work tomorrow. Then he grabbed the guest book and sat next to Dean since Sam was sprawled out taking notes.

The names in the guest book were extremely similar and very American. There were Smith's, Brown's, Murphy's or a variety of spellings there of. Anything that sounded remotely odd Harry made a note of, but there really wasn't anything to find. At least with the way his eyes were drifting closed and sleep was beckoning for him.

"Dude, he's out." Dean smirked as the book tumbled down Harry's chest, not waking him in the slightest.

"Long day." Sam looked over, noticing the glasses perched on Harry's nose. "Take his glasses off, and move that book."

"I got it, Sam." Dean closed the guest book and placed it on the floor before gingerly easing the glasses off of Harry's face and placing them on the nightstand. "I took care of you for how long, and you turned out okay."

"I know, it's just, there's something about him that makes you want to take care of him." Sam shrugged, waiting for Dean to say something sarcastic but nothing came.

"Yeah, I get that feeling too. Even though he doesn't think we can take care of ourselves." Dean rolled his eyes and went back to watching An American Werewolf in London. The credits started rolling when Dean's phone started to vibrate against the nightstand, he leaned over to grab it. Seeing Bobby's number lighting up the screen, he answered.

"Hey Bobby."

"Dean."

"What's up?"

"Just wanted to check in on Harry, he doing okay?" Dean glanced over at where Harry had turned on his side, facing the door.

"Yeah, he's sleeping. He went out to think earlier, but he seems okay."

"He's probably going to dream tonight. It's not going to be a good night."

"What do you mean Bobby?"

"Wouldn't you have nightmares or flashbacks if you saw someone who was suppose to be dead?"

"Gotcha."

"Yeah, just watch out for him for me, Dean."

"Will do."

"Thanks, I'll see you boys bright and early." Dean flipped his phone shut and set it back on the table and looked over at Sam.

"I have a feeling, this is going to be a long night."

"What'd Bobby want?"

"Asking about Harry, warning us about his dreams." Sam nodded, then closed the Prince book and gathered his notes up and placed them on the table. "Wasn't there a spare blanket around here?" Sam looked around the room and spotted it on the couch and covered Harry and then settled in his own bed. "Night, Dean."

"Night, Sammy."

Dean decided that waking up to someone thrashing in the bed next to you is not ideal, especially when that said someone is speaking in tongues and groaning in pain. So he tried the first thing that came to mind, he reached out to shake Harry awake but that only made matters worse. Harry ended up screaming and Sam shot up out of his bed.

"Dean, what the hell is going on?"

"Need some help over here, Sammy." Dean noticed the motions of Harry's hand and it reminded him of when Harry was fighting the demons with magic, so Dean pulled Harry against his chest, trapping Harry's arm, putting a halt to the movement. Sam sat behind Harry and started to rub his back, and Dean couldn't tell or give a damn what Sam was saying to Harry but it was calming him down. All that mattered was it was something that was working.

"Okay." Dean looked at Sam's wide eyes and back at Harry. He was still asleep. "He's still sleeping. Let's just lay him down, and hopefully this doesn't happen again." Sam nodded and eased off the bed as they lowered Harry back into the bed. As soon as Sam's hands left Harry's skin, Harry got lost in the nightmare again. As soon as Sam was back, Harry calmed back down.

"Well, you stay with him and I'll just sleep in that bed." Dean suggested as he tried to pry Harry's hands off his arms. As soon as he did, he got the same reaction Sam got moments earlier. "Shit Sammy." Dean looked at where Harry gripped his arms, "He's bruising me."

"Look he's not waking up, and he's going to freak out if either of us leaves. So we should just lie down and go to sleep. Here."

Dean took a few seconds to mull it around in his mind then narrowed his eyes at Sam, "Fine, but if he says anything about this, I'm telling him it was your idea, Sasquatch. All yours."

"Whatever, Dean." Sam lay back curled against Harry's back, Dean facing Harry. "Just… that sounded like he was terrified, Dean."

"I know, Sam." Dean reached over Harry and rubbed Sam's shoulder and got lost trying to figure out where to place it. Eventually he gave up and rested it on Harry's waist. "He'll be okay."

"He was stuck in whatever dream that was, and that didn't sound okay, Dean."

"Sam, we've had our fair share of dreams. You might not remember me having to throw water on you in the middle of the night when we were younger after mom died, and then again after Jess died, but I remember. Just… try to get some sleep okay?"

"You too, Dean."

It was almost an hour before Sam fell asleep, and even then Dean waited longer to make sure he stayed asleep. They were both waiting for Harry to lose himself again, and they didn't want to be asleep for that to happen. Dean fumbled for his cell phone and dialed for Bobby.

"Dean?" Bobby answered on the first ring; apparently he must have been expecting the phone call.

"Hey Bobby." Dean carried the conversation out in hushed whispers.

"What happened?"

"Besides a massive freak out by a sleeping Harry, nothing big."

"You're going to have to explain that one to me, Dean."

"He just started groaning, and sounded like he was speaking in tongues. I tried to wake him up Bobby, I did. It just wasn't working. And Sam, Sam woke up once Harry started screaming and he was still asleep. We got him to calm down, and he's been calm for about an hour now."

"So why are you calling me?"

"Cause Bobby, he sounded terrified… and I might have done something wrong."

"Sounds like you and Sam handled it pretty well."

"Thanks, Bobby."

"Well it's almost four. Get some sleep, I'll be heading out in an hour." Dean set the phone haphazardly on the nightstand and curled back next to Harry. Sam was right, he did sound terrified, terrified and stuck.

Harry woke up slowly, trying to grasp at what had woken him. It was almost normal after nightmares or memories that were that strong for his mind to automatically block everything out, to keep him from panicking when waking up. However with his eyes still closed Harry started to remember. Taking slow deep breaths Harry stared up at the ceiling, and tried to process the images that began to bombard his mind. They were part of his dreams and memories. Where he got lost in the night.

The first images were of Draco, deciding to become a spy and Harry trying his hardest to convince him otherwise. Then the images shifted to Draco showing up at the meetings at Number Twelve in bloodied cloaks and silver masks, bruised and battered. Other times, Snape had carried him in, arm wrapped around Draco's waist. Then, when they were both captured a few weeks before the final battle, and after a few rounds of torture curses, and hexes Harry never thought existed they managed to get out. At least he thought they had. Some how Draco got lost in a scuffle and shoved Harry out of the manor they were held captive in. The worst part of it all was reliving stumbling over Draco's crumpled body and the vicious laughter of Lucius Malfoy.

Harry took a few more deep breaths to calm his racing mind. Everything in his mind was telling him that this is when he would be curled in a ball, tucked tightly beneath the covers. The strange thing was, Harry's skin was burning instead of racking with shivers.

There was a weight against his chest and tangled with his legs; it felt comfortable, and it was safe. Blinking the remnants of sleep out of his eyes he turned when he felt someone breathing against his neck on his left side and then someone breathing into his ear on his right. Harry angled his head a little and noticed the dirty blonde hair tucked against his shoulder and realized Dean was halfway lying on his chest. Harry's eyes followed the arm Dean had splayed across stomach and noticed Sam's face next to his own. Giving an experimental stretch of his legs he figured it had to have been Sam's lingering legs tangled in his own. Fatigue began to wash over Harry. At the moment, it felt like he had run a marathon most of the night and his mind was still a mile behind him. So Harry let his eyes drift shut, reveling in the warmth and the soft darkness that enveloped the room and surrounded him.

The shrieks from the alarm clock pulled Harry from a deep, dreamless sleep. Opening his eyes, he watched as Sam's arm reached over both him and Dean to turn it off. Sam's arm flopped down on top of them both.

"Harry?"

"I'm awake."

"Then why aren't you out of bed?"

"Cause you and Dean are cuddle bears from hell, and you currently have me seat belted into this bed with that arm of yours."

"You love it." Dean's voice was hoarse from sleep. "Anyone want to tell me why we are awake at," Dean stole a glance at the alarm clock, "Seven in the morning?"

"Unlike you two, some of us have a job to do." Harry poked at Sam's arm to get him to move. "Which requires me to get out of bed." Harry could have sworn he heard a muffled, "too bad", from Dean, and Sam's arm squeeze him tight before they both rolled over. Harry rolled his eyes at their actions. This wasn't getting any easier. Harry crawled to the end of the bed and then gathered his clothes, heading for the bathroom to get ready for the day.


	9. Chapter 9

Stepping out of the bathroom with the Motel 59 polo and a pair of jeans, Harry smirked at Sam sitting at the table already scanning through names in the guest book. Dean was still lying on his stomach in the very spot Harry had vacated minutes earlier.

"You alright?" Sam asked as Harry slipped his boots on.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just," Harry rubbed his jaw, "rough night you know?"

"We know, Harry, we were there." Sam looked back down at the guest book.

"That bad?"

"Could have been worse."

"Well, what ever you both did, it really helped." A knock sounded at the door and Dean was swiveling out of bed and Sam was on his feet. Harry checked the entrance from a sliver in the blinds. "It's Bobby." Harry opened the door and waited for Bobby to pass over the line of salt and found himself gathered in Bobby's arms. "I'm happy to see you too, Bobby." Harry hugged Bobby back.

"Okay, just go to work." Bobby held the door open and Harry walked through it nodding good-bye and heading for the office to see if Leigh had anything special besides cleaning for him to do today.

Leigh was perched behind the counter, hair pulled into a tight bun and she was chewing on the end of her pen. "Hey, Harry, going to actually work today?" She looked up and bit her bottom lip. "Okay, sorry. That was out of line, you look like crap."

"It's okay. Anything special you want me to do today besides clean the rooms?"

"Look for the guest book for one, the thing has gone rogue. Possibly grown a pair of legs and made a run for the hills. Thibodeaux is a scary man when rooms aren't being booked." Harry smiled at Leigh.

"Saw the missing sign last night when I was up here. I'll keep an eye out for it."

"Okay, and set up a long term room next to yours." Leigh flipped through the pages in front of her. "We've got someone coming in for a while, and we just need to make sure everything is nice and fresh."

"Nice and fresh?" Harry gave her a raised eyebrow.

"Words from Thibodeaux's mouth, not mine."

"Any idea of who this person might be?"

"A surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Look, in all your fidgety, uptight, don't trust a soul thing you've got going on lately, this isn't a bad thing. We need the business so stop tensing up like that."

"Sure thing. So guest book and a long-term room. Anything else?"

"Not a thing, Harry." Leigh gave a tight smile, a smile Harry felt didn't belong to Leigh at all. Suppressing the urge to stay in the room longer and get a read on her aura, Harry headed towards the door.

"Okay, well I'm going to get to it." Harry gave a small smile and headed to the laundry room, gathering fresh bed linens. He grabbed the cleaning cart and started from the long-term room and made his way through each room. Harry started thinking he might need to make a point of reading each person he encountered from now on, because something was off, and it was starting to get under his skin.

Harry caught a glance of Dean and Sam taking bags out of the Chevelle and bringing them into his room. Then they shuffled into the room next door to where he was cleaning and they brought out another bag, and packed it in the Chevelle. Then the brothers disappeared back into his room.

He was locking up room three when Dean's voice startled him. "Hey, we were thinking it would be easier to just check out of our room, and stay with you. Since we kind of already are. Save money in the economic crisis." Harry smiled at Dean.

"Come up with that on your own?" Dean swatted him on the back of the head.

"So, am I going to have to send Sammy out here?"

"No, it's cool. Just go get your stuff and tell Leigh you're checking out. I'm fine with it. What's Bobby doing?"

"He checked out last night, but he'll probably get a room whenever he's here. Man of mystery. Disappears in his tower of books when me and Sam are at his place." Harry nodded.

"Okay, well I'm almost finished. Thanks to you two, I've got to clean your room up, too, and then I'll be done."

"Sam's looking at those wards, said he had some ideas."

"He understands that stuff?"

"Not the toil and trouble part, but the Latin. He's brains." Dean shrugged.

"Okay, well maybe we'll get somewhere with that today. We've got a new guest staying long term. Don't know who or when they get here. Just that they've paid upfront." Harry glanced at the office. "Just watch yourself."

"What's up?" Dean asked, following Harry's look.

"Something doesn't feel right." Harry pushed the cart forwards then stopped. "We need to get those wards up."

"I'll look into wards that we can handle in the mean time." Dean smirked. "Nah, I'll get Sammy to do that, I'll just get lunch."

"Thanks."

"Hey, it's the least I can do, you haven't locked us back in the room yet and you've kind of asked for help." Dean shrugged. "Plus, I get what you're saying about something feels off, that something isn't right. The bugs are quiet. Never a good sign. I'm going to check out and head back." Harry watched as Dean walked towards the office then finished off the rooms as quickly as he could.

As soon as Harry stepped through the doorway Sam looked up from his notes and started speaking. "So, I've got a few ideas for the wards from what the Prince book had written out." Harry paused, looked at Sam, and then over at Dean.

"Told you he was good." Dean shrugged and took another bite out of the burger in his hand.

"It's just basic, but if you combine the spell work from this spell," Sam flipped from one page, and then through two others. "And these two. You should get a basic ward up around the motel. I figure since I've got that all figured out, you'll understand how to actually do the spells and you might be able to add on to them." Sam sorted through the loose papers on the table, pushing them over towards Harry.

"Okay. Let him eat first, Sam." When Harry turned towards the table Dean tossed a paper bag to Harry expecting the bag to fall to the ground, but Harry turned and grabbed it to set it on the table. "Hmm." Dean commented, and watched as Harry and Sam looked over the notes.

"I think I can weave in the rest of what I want, it's just communicating it to my magic." Harry told Sam as he pulled out the burger from the bag and inspected it to see what Dean had ordered him. He noticed it had everything that he ordered on his burger from the diner. "Thanks, Dean."

"No problem." Harry heard Dean smacking and rolled his eyes. "So what do you mean communicating it to your magic?"

"Ward magic, it's different than spells. You have to state your intentions in the incantation but, after the first few minutes, of the warding I've seen, everything is quiet and it's done through your mind."

"So, it's another sign of powerful Harry?" Sam asked from the seat across from Harry.

"Not necessarily. Most mothers can do it if they choose to. It's the need to protect what's yours, and whether or not you have someone there to protect you while your most vulnerable. But there are tracking spells and other methods besides wards." Harry looked up at the ceiling. "That's why all those are potions based. It doesn't leave you open to other magic. When I do this, I'm open to whatever is out there and it'll probably call to them. I'm going to need you to have my back."

"Well, you've got it." Dean stood up and looked between Sam and Harry. "Bobby is heading out tonight, said he needed one of us to go with him. We either hold off on this thing tonight and do it tomorrow, or you trust who ever is here to watch out for you."

"We should talk to Bobby about it." Sam looked up at Dean. "Something isn't right here and this needs to be done."  
"Where is Bobby?" Harry asked.

"Went to fuel up, he should be back any time now." Sam answered and they all turned towards the door as they heard the Chevelle pull into the parking lot.

"I'm glad he likes my car." Harry muttered standing up and tossing his trash in the garbage, "Cause I miss her. At least someone is driving her." Bobby knocked on the door and Sam let him in, and before he sat down, Sam started talking again.

"What is with him today?" Harry asked Dean in a hushed tone.

"He's freaking out about something." Dean looked at Harry. "And I think you know what he's freaking out about. He started to say something earlier about you and then he backed off." Dean eyed Harry. "Know anything about that, Harry?"

Harry bit into his bottom lip and looked over Dean's shoulder at where Sam and Bobby were discussing when to ward the motel. "Just Sam being Sam." Harry gave Dean a small smile and stepped closer towards Bobby and Sam. "So what do you think we should do, Bobby?"

"We get these wards done tonight." Bobby rubbed at his chin. "I can hold off on the rest of the weapons, we should be okay if anything happens." Bobby turned towards Harry. "If you think you have what you need to get this done tonight, then we do it tonight." Without speaking out loud, Bobby asked Harry if he thought he really could get the wards done. If he had all the information he needed to set them up without rushing though it, missing something, or leaving anything to chance.

"Give me a couple of hours and I'll know for sure, Bobby. Sam has all the basic without any kind of magical education. I just need to make sure everything connects right and I can add what I need to, and where I need to add it."

"What time do we need to start tonight?" Bobby asked, eyes looking out of the cracked blinds.

"Three AM would be the best time."

"You're kidding right?" Sam asked from where he was sitting. "The witching hour?"

"It's because it's when people are in their deepest sleep. Less disturbances, and a heightened sense of magic, best for warding." Harry's eyes flickered up to meet Sam and Dean.

"This is going to kill us, you know that right?" Dean pushed the heel of his hand against his eyes. "You're going to be like an all you can eat buffet out there." Sam saw the confusion fluttering through Harry's eyes.

"The witching hour is when demon's and spirits are supposedly most active."

"Right, well let me figure out if I can do this tonight and then you start your worrying, Sam." Harry started to scan over Sam's notes, with the soft tones of Bobby, Dean and Sam speaking about how to keep everyone safe as Harry began to write out his additions and the incantation he wanted to use. The evening wore on and Sam left at some point and came back, bringing everyone food and halting everything for a few minutes.

"Think you got this, kid?" Bobby asked from the couch.

"I've got it." Harry said around a bite of salad.

"Okay, so what exactly do you have to do to set up the wards?" Sam asked.

"Walk the perimeter and then start the incantation."

"Sounds like there is going to be more than walking and chanting," Dean commented.

"Well, Dean will be closest to you. Sam and I will be where we can see you and around the motel incase anything decides to show up." Bobby cut into the conversation.

"Alright."

"And you will have a weapon on you. We aren't leaving anything to chance, and if what we're thinking is right, these suckers will be making a beeline straight for you."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air seemed chilled against Harry's skin as he walked from his room towards the edge of the parking lot. The humidity had receded when the sun fell across the horizon, and the cool air crept in as they prepared. Stepping at the edge of the parking lot with Dean a few feet away. Sam was at the east end of the motel and Bobby at the west. Harry lit the bundle of Juniper and sage to begin warding the motel.

As Harry walked, the juniper and sage burned and he sprinkled holy water on the ground. Harry listened to his surroundings, letting his mind open. He could hear Dean's footsteps as they lingered behind him. As he made his way towards Sam, Harry could hear the slow and steady breathing of the hunter as he passed by. Harry couldn't see Bobby, but he could feel the elder hunter's presence as he finished walking the perimeter of the motel, closing it as he watched the juniper and sage turn to ash on the gravel.

"Ready?" Harry questioned Dean quietly, receiving a quick nod. Harry felt the harsh metal digging into the small of his back, and reminding Harry of the precautions they all took before heading out here. The guns were loaded with the blessed ammo before stepping out of the room. Taking a deep breath, Harry tilted his head towards the ground and began reciting the incantation and slowly he lifted his face towards the sky.

Dean watched as Harry looked from the ground and up towards the sky. Dean could understand some of the Latin Harry was speaking; it was about protection from evil and demons. That much he could understand. Dean scanned the road and the area around Harry, as the spoken Latin turned into something resembling a song.

The moment Harry lifted his hands from where they were hanging by his sides Dean felt the air in the atmosphere shift. If anything was going to happen it was about to start happening now. Dean searched for any visible threats crawling out of the woods or from the streets but again he came up with nothing. He wasn't seeing or hearing anything.

Then Dean felt a blast of raw power engulf him, and he struggled to breathe. A gust of wind followed and he looked towards Harry. Harry's eyes had an eerie glow to them. He didn't want to look away.

"Dean?" Sam's voice carried across the parking lot and over Harry's chanting.

"It was Harry." Dean answered the unspoken question and then he saw it, or him. Standing on the opposite side of the street watching Harry, the tilt of the head reminded Dean of someone being sized up, measured for a threat.

"Got company!" Dean heard Bobby's voice carry through the parking lot and he moved closer towards Harry, watching the man on the other side of the street. Twin footsteps came jogging closer towards Dean and Harry, Bobby and Sam stood in front of Harry.

"How many?" Dean asked, looking around the parking lot and seeing nothing.

"I counted three." Sam answered.

"I had four on my side." Bobby answered and looked at Dean.

"I've got one."

"One?" Bobby paused and turned to look.

"I think that's our guy. He hasn't moved since I've spotted him, he's just watching." Dean answered Bobby.

"He's the one controlling them?" Sam asked, arms raising, holding the chrome Beretta shoulder level, and taking aim at the approaching forms. "Why aren't we focusing on him? Putting a stop to all of this?"

"Because, these guys aren't going to stop." Dean answered raising his pearl handled Colt 1911, gripped tight in his hands. "Bobby, we're going to have to shoot."

"Yeah, we are." Bobby propped his shotgun up to his shoulder. "Just got to make sure they're the demons. Just remember what we talked about earlier, Dean."

"Yeah, if possible keep one alive, but I'm not making any promises Bobby, cause we don't even know if the bullets are going to work."

"It'll get em' out the bodies and that's all that matters right now." Dean clicked the safety off and heard Sam do the same. Dean kept his body angled so he could watch Harry, the man across the street, and the motel parking lot. He felt his heart pounding against his chest and adrenaline pump through his veins.

"They're demons." Sam spotted the black eyes, the inhuman swagger and he turned to tell Bobby, but Bobby was already firing a round of blessed rock salt out towards them, causing Sam and Dean to follow suit. Once the bullets pierced skin the demons paused, a hand holding where they were hit. One took a staggering step forward and crumbled towards the ground, looking towards Harry with a smile on its face. Dean turned and looked back across the street. He had moved closer, but not close enough he could see any distinguishing features besides the light brown hair a street light caught.

"He's getting closer." Dean yelled, and he watched as a cloud of black dust rose from the mouth of the fallen possessed body and towards the sky. As soon as the dust began to rise, flashes of enraged light burst forth from the demons as they closed in on the hunters.

"The weapons worked." Sam turned to look back at Dean, to see what he was talking about, but Dean was moving away from them and across the street. "Dean!" Sam went to follow but a tight grip on his arm stopped him.

"You leave me and Harry here, you leave us to die. Now shoot. He can take care of himself." Bobby reloaded and aimed. Dean took a moment to look back at Harry, and back towards Sam and Bobby. There were six demons; he couldn't leave them there like that. Boots sliding against the pavement, Dean turned back around and took in the demon getting closer to Sam and one bullet to the skull and it was down. Sam turned to look back and smirked seeing Dean.

"Good to see you actually have some sense in you boy." Bobby commented as he reloaded the double barrel. The demons were closing in quickly and Dean hoped Harry was almost finished.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry could hear the muffled sounds of guns firing and could see the burst of lights from spells flying towards him. It was like something drained all the energy out of him and all he could do was stand and watch as Dean and Bobby wrestled a demon into the trunk of the Impala. Then he noticed Sam struggling against the hold of a demon. It was like the muffled, underwater hearing was suddenly lifted.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, and Harry reacted on instinct when he saw the demon pinning Sam's arms behind him. Harry saw Sam's head jerk back as if someone yanked hard on his hair, and he saw the gravel giving beneath his boots. Harry reached behind his back and pulled the Smith and Wesson 1911 and fired directly over Sam's shoulder and into the demon's neck. Sam fall backwards stunned, looking towards Dean to see him slamming the trunk down, and swinging around, looking at Sam. Dean cut across the parking lot towards Sam and as Sam got to his feet, they both turned towards Harry. Seeing the smoldering gun hanging at his side as he looked towards them. Each hunter jerked at the distinct cracks in the air as the remaining two demons apparated from the motel parking lot.

At the edge of the wards a blurred figure stood waiting, observing as Dean and Sam went towards Harry. Sam looped an arm around Harry's shoulder. Dean's arm went around his waist. They stopped and stared at the Impala as the black cloud drifted out and Bobby opened it to the body.

"Let's clean this up, and then we'll figure everything out from there." Bobby looked towards the bodies in the parking lot to the one in the trunk of the Impala.

"Toss em' in Bobby, and we'll bury them." Dean grimaced at the state the trunk would be in when they were finished.

"Good thing we think in advance." Sam muttered. "Just got to move them and then cover them up." Sam thought back to when Bobby told him where to dig and Harry followed him out and made a hole in the ground for them.

"Sam, you take Harry in the room and Dean you can help me." Bobby frowned, looking at everything.

"I can help."

"You aren't leaving these wards yet." Bobby stopped the argument before it started, motioning Sam to drag Harry inside and for Dean to hurry up and get started.

"You okay?" Dean asked, fingers digging deeper into Harry's hip, but looking at Sam.

"I'm good." Sam smirked at Harry. "Some ringing in my ear, but good."

"How about you, Harry?"

"Just need a shower and a bed and then I'll be right as rain."

"Okay, well." Dean looked at Sam then headed off to help Bobby.

"Was that a, 'watch yourself look' or a 'take care of Harry look'?" Harry asked as Sam's arm moved to around his waist and they made it into Harry's room.

"That was a, 'better be careful or I'll bury you look'." Sam answered shutting the door. "You sure you want a shower tonight?" Sam asked, taking in the jaw popping yawn and the dazed look glossing over Harry's eyes.

"Yeah, just if I'm in there longer than ten minutes I've probably fallen and busted my skull open and I'll need you to sew me up."

"How about you leave the door open and I'll sit out here?"

"Both of you worry like mother hens." Harry turned to look at Sam and then rubbed at his face, knocking his glasses awry. "When you were the one who got snatched up by a demon." Harry shook his head and started shuffling through his drawers for clean clothes, not being able to settle on any pair of sleep pants or a shirt. "I was stuck, and you were being dragged away." Harry stopped his mindless shuffling when a pair of arms wrapped around him. "Everything was muffled and then all I could hear was you yelling for Dean." Harry turned around in the arms, looking Sam in the hazel eyes.

"I'm fine, Harry." Sam leaned closer into Harry. "I'm right here."

"I know that, but that image it's still here." Harry held a hand to his forehead and Sam pulled it away, lacing their fingers together and then moving his hand to cup Harry's jaw, tilting it upwards.

The first brush of lips was brief and gentle. Sam meant it to be reassuring. The moment he tasted Harry on his lips, and felt Harry's hands on the nape of his neck and brushing against the stubble on his jaw, he was intoxicated. Pushing Harry against the chest of drawers, Sam cradled Harry's head as Harry's lips parted. Their breaths mingling as Sam explored and smiled against Harry's lips. Brushing against the roof of Harry's mouth, the satisfied hum from the back of Harry's throat made Sam realize he found a sweet spot.

Gasping for air, Harry placed a hand on Sam's chest, pushing him back. "I think I need that shower now." Harry rubbed a thumb over his lips and grabbed the first pair of pants he could find and headed for the bathroom.

"I could join you, make sure you don't bust your head open." Sam smirked at Harry, recieving an eye roll.

"I think I've got this covered, Sam." Harry shook his head as he headed for the shower.

Sluggishly moving out of the steamed bathroom, Harry saw Bobby and Dean had made it back into the room.

"Thank God." Dean stood up, heading for the bathroom. "Maggots, and dead things." Dean shook his shoulders and brushed passed Harry but stopped, hand brushing against the back of Harry's hand. "Feeling alright?"

"Tired." Harry gave Dean a sleepy smile. "Go take your shower, you reek."

"Thanks, try to check up on a guy and he insults you."

"Big words." Harry nudged Dean towards the bathroom and Harry curled up on his bed.

"I should talk to him." Sam said from where he was laying.

"We should talk to him." Harry amended. "Dean said you tried talking to him earlier. That why you were so antsy?"

"Yeah. I think he'll have it figured out before we tell him though."

"He's a smart guy." Harry said around a yawn. "It'll be okay, Sam. This is the one thing I don't feel doom and gloom about. You, me, and him."

"Right." Sam stood up, fingers tapping at his thighs. "Bobby and I are heading out tonight, we used a lot of the ammo. So we need to be sure to have extra just in case."

"Okay. I'm falling asleep over here, Sam." Harry mumbled into his pillow.

"Just letting you know."

"You and Bobby will be back this evening?" Harry asked, pulling the covers over his shoulders, taking in the glow coming through the blinds.

"Yeah."

"Good." Harry buried his head underneath the covers, hiding from the light.

Harry listened from beneath his covers as Bobby came back into the room, and Dean stepped out of the bathroom.

"Kid okay?" Bobby asked.

"Just sleeping." Sam answered. "You going to need anything else besides me riding along?"

"Just muscle, and you to take the drive back here." Bobby said. "Figured since Dean did the heavy lifting last trip and did a lot of the dirty work, you could handle this."

"It's not a problem Bobby just wondering."

"So when are you getting back in?" Dean asked.

"Late tonight probably. If Sam doesn't drive like a grandma." Bobby commented wryly.

"I don't drive like a grandma, Bobby. I drive with caution." Harry could feel the eye roll from beneath the covers.

"Right. So you got this?"

"Yeah. He's sleeping and the wards are up." Dean answered, ushering them through the door and closing it behind them. Harry felt the bed dip beside him and the covers he had tucked around him were slowly pulled away from his body so Dean could get comfortable underneath the comforter.

"You could just ask for some covers." Harry commented and Dean jumped, not expecting Harry to still be awake. Harry rolled over to see the flush creeping up Dean's neck. "So are you getting in or not? I'm tired and it's cold in this room." Harry held one edge up for Dean to scoot onto the mattress. After a moment's hesitation Dean slipped between the sheets, facing Harry.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Harry questioned.

"Sam. Taking care of him when I couldn't." Dean was staring at the patterns in the fabric and Harry brushed a hand against Dean's cheek getting his attention.

"Just doing what anyone would have done."

"Not many people would have made that shot, Harry."

"But I did." Harry moved closer towards Dean. Feeling the warmth of Dean's body against his skin. "I wouldn't have pulled the trigger if I thought I would have hit Sam." Harry's nose brushed against the curve of Dean's neck as he inhaled his scent.

"Go to sleep Harry." Dean murmured as he turned to meet Harry's lips.

"In a minute." Harry whispered, rolling on top of Dean, arm's on each side of his face. Harry watched as lust clouded Dean's eyes as he leaned forwards, brushing his lips against Dean's and pulling back, teasing. Finally Dean moved a hand through Harry's dark locks, holding him as their lips parted against each other. After fighting for dominance of the kiss, and Dean winning, Harry pulled back. The lackadaisical smirk gracing Dean's swollen lips made Harry smile. "Mm, now I think I'll go to sleep."


	10. Chapter 10

Sam decided the nicest thing about Harry's Chevelle, was he updated the seating from the original bench seat to the individual bucket seats. As a result, his seat was pushed as far back as it could go, with his legs stretched out in front of him as he listened to the rhythmic bumps of the highway beneath the wheels. He had to cover a few yawns here and there, but until Bobby explicitly told him that it was all right to sleep, Sam was wide awake. At least as awake as the air gliding against his skin from the open window could keep him.

"You want to tell me what's going on between you, Dean, and Harry?" Bobby broke the silence that had filled the car for the past half hour, jarring Sam from his light drifting.

"What?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Look, kid. I may be old, but I ain't as stupid as you all seem to think I am."

"I'm not calling you stupid, Bobby, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"One morning, Harry wakes up with a hickey on his neck. I ask him about it, he doesn't tell me which one of you gave it to him, or even if one of you did, but I know one of you did." Bobby cast a sidelong glance at Sam and then refocused on the road ahead of them. "Me and Harry had a talk, and cleared some things up, but then I've been noticing how you two have taken to him. Now, I don't care what you boys get up to in your personal lives, but him I worry about."

"Even after all that crap you gave him for so long?" Sam snapped before thinking. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, he said the same thing." Bobby shrugged. "Deserve it I guess. I'm still cautious around him. It's him being so different from you and Dean. The magic." Bobby answered before Sam could ask why. "But I noticed how both you and Dean have taken to casual touches, something more than friendly." Bobby huffed out a breath, knuckles turning white against the steering wheel. "I just need to understand what's going on here, Sam. Am I going to have to be watching out for a jealousy thing, or if one of you gets hurt is the other going to run off in the heat of the moment?"

"Oh." Sam laced his fingers together, stared into his lap and then out the window and out the window, into the glare of the rising sun. "See, Bobby, that's the thing."

"Sam." Bobby growled, light bulb going off over his head.

"You haven't told him have you? You just want to go on your merry way and hope he agrees to this," Bobby struggled to pick out an appropriate word, "arrangement, and it'll be roses?"

"I tried telling him."

"Well, obviously you didn't, because you know exactly what he would do and say."

"Oh yeah. He'd say, "Sam, he's yours" Sam rolled his eyes. "Harry is not a possession Bobby, and he makes Dean happy. When is the last time you heard Dean laugh the way he has when Harry has been around? When was the last time you've seen Dean touch someone? Most of the time he won't even hug me."

"You know he knows, Sam." Bobby murmured, as he signaled before taking a turn onto a gravel road.

"Yeah I know, Bobby. He's not stupid."

"And the longer you wait to say anything, the more you're going to hurt your brother." Bobby smirked. "Kind of makes him sound like a girl."

"Whatever." Sam smiled at Bobby's attempt to lighten the situation. "I talked to Harry about it, and he said we should talk to him about it, not just me."

"That's probably the only way Dean would even consider it." Bobby snorted. "This conversation, never again, Sam. Never again." Bobby parked outside of a ramshackle, paint-peeling house. "Well, this is where the priest lives."

"Fitting." Sam commented as he and Bobby stepped out of the car and onto trampled grass. "So I'm just grabbing the bags, and hauling them in?"

"Yep, and then we're heading back."

"Alright."

"And, let me straighten this up for you real quick, Sam." Bobby paused long enough to get Sam's attention. "You and Dean, hurt him…" Bobby trailed off, looking over the Chevelle at Sam, "As much as I'm cautious around him, you better hope that Impala can drive faster than this Chevelle, cause you're both going to be hurting when I find you."

"Got it." Sam bit into his bottom lip and moved around to the trunk of the Chevelle. "So, these weapons, what does this guy do with them?" They made their way up the heat-warped steps of the porch and waited to be permitted entry into the house.

"Well, he basically soaks everything in holy water and does his little ritual. Except the rock salt rounds, those he sings over. Sounds like that damn Barney song if you ask me."

It was bright when Harry woke up, and everything still felt a bit muffled in his mind. Sitting up, he took stock of his surroundings. Dean was still sleeping on his stomach; arm outstretched towards Harry's pillow and the room was empty and quiet. Taking a glance at the clock on the nightstand it was a little before one in the afternoon, and Harry decided he might as well get up. There might actually be work to do around the motel that he might have missed out on.

Leaving a note on the table, Harry shuffled out of the room as quiet as his boots would allow him and he headed for the main office. Leigh was sitting and flipping through papers before Harry opened the door her head snapped up and she gave him a small smile and went back to flipping through the papers.

"You're in a bit late today." She commented when Harry pushed through the door.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"No biggie. Thibodeaux just wants the windows cleaned, and if you didn't wash the sheets you changed yesterday for those to be done." Leigh shrugged. "No one checked in or checked out last night."

"You okay?" Harry asked, noticing the subdued mood she was in. Compared to yesterday's snappish mood it was okay in his book, but that was a bit of a drastic change. Emerald eyes flickered over her messy hair and paler than usual skin.

"Just feeling weird. Like something happened and I can't quite remember what it was, you know?" She pursed her lips as Harry moved around the counter to get a closer look at her. "I know I was here yesterday, but what exactly did I do yesterday? Probably went through the papers, obviously signed a long-term tenant in for a month." Leigh shrugged a shoulder and looked up at Harry confused.

"You don't remember?"

"Kind of blanked out."

"Hm, well if you're asking me," Harry looked at the ceiling gathering his thoughts and glossing over what he really thought about the situation. "I think you just had a really bad day yesterday."

"I was horrible, wasn't I?"

"Sort of." Harry smiled at her and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "But I forgive you for telling me that I was fidgety, uptight, and that I don't trust a soul."

"I said that?" Leigh's eyes grew wide. "I'm so sorry, Harry. You know I don't really think that don't you?"

"Leigh, I've had worse things said about me before. Don't worry about it, plus we all have our rough days. I just assume little Anna and your husband were giving you trouble."

"Probably." Leigh huffed out a sigh. "I just can't really remember yesterday for the life of me." They both turned towards the back as they heard a jumble of footsteps and cursing. "You better disappear, he is not too happy today." Leigh shooed Harry out of the office and he headed for the laundry room to start washing the bed sheets.

Leigh didn't remember anything of yesterday. Which could mean a couple of things but, given what had occurred during the night, Harry was thinking along the lines of possession. Specifically a demonic possession. Yet, why would they only possess her for the one day and then leave her be, and in tact at that?

Then last night, why would they try to drag Sam off and not Harry? Yes, Sam was the one who was killing the demons, but in reality Harry was the one who threatened them from ever getting close to them again while they were at the motel. "Well, it's more like a safe house more than anything else." Harry muttered out loud to himself as he grabbed for the window solution and a couple of older rags to start on the windows while the sheets were washing.

Harry couldn't shake the fact that the entire time he was performing the incantation that he felt as though he was being watched by something that wasn't supposed to be there. Something that wasn't entirely human. The fact he got lost inside himself while warding the motel didn't help his observation skills any. Maybe later when Bobby and Sam got back they could piece everything together for him.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Harry brushed a hand against his scar and felt the outlines of it had risen up from the skin. Like he had scratched at it during the night. Fighting the urge to brush his hair away from his forehead and look at his reflection in the windows, he quickly finished the windows and headed back towards the laundry room to switch the sheets over to the dryer and to look at his scar in the mirror that someone had hung in the bathroom.

Moving the fringe to one side of his forehead, Harry grimaced at the sight that greeted him. The serpent was an angry red instead of its faded light pink, and it looked like he had picked and scratched at his forehead in his sleep. The lightning bolt the serpent was wrapped around appeared raw and burned.

"Great, just great. As if things couldn't get any stranger, they certainly just did." Harry kicked at the wall and rearranged his hair to hide the scar as usual.

"What's strange?" Dean's voiced echoed from the main floor of the laundry room.

"Nothing." Harry was tempted to bang his head on the wall and resisted the urge. He stepped out to see Dean sitting on top of the dryer the bed sheets were in with a grin on his face.

"Really? Cause you were just talking to yourself, and if that's not the first sign, then I don't know what is?"

"Just trying to figure something out."

"Uh huh." Dean's smile morphed into a frown and he checked his watch. "Sam and Bobby are on their way back. Sam said he was planning to tell me something when he got back. You know what he's talking about?"

The urged to bash his head into the wall was growing larger by the minute. "No idea, Dean."

"See, when you are like this," Dean gestured with his hands, "drained, up to your elbows in thinking, you can't lie worth shit. So, why don't you just tell me whatever you were freaking about in there," Dean pointed towards the bathroom, "and then you can freak out later about whatever you and Sammy have to tell me."

Harry rolled his eyes and brushed a hand up his forehead to reveal the angry scar. "What the hell?" Dean slid off the dryer and moved closer towards Harry to get a closer look.

"Personal space?" Harry muttered as he felt Dean's breath brush across the bridge of his nose.

"Kind of already jumped that fence, haven't we, Harry." Dean lifted a finger towards the scar and traced it and watched Harry close his eyes. "Expected that to hurt?"

"A bit, it usually does if it looks like it's going to hurt. I figure I must have scratched at it all last night for it to look like that."

"No, you didn't scratch at it." Dean commented, still tracing the scar, but eyes flickering down towards Harry.

"How do you know?"

"You, ah," Dean cleared his throat, "You kind of latched on to me last night while you were sleeping. So you didn't scratch at that last night."

"Sorry."

"Not complaining, Harry." Dean looked away for a moment and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Harry couldn't help but smile at the response that fell from Dean's lips. "Stop that." Dean muttered.

"Stop what?" Harry chuckled, raising his hands in innocence. "I'm not doing anything."

"That smile says different."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so stop it." Dean turned away from Harry and hopped back up on the dryer. "So, how are you feeling? Sam has this list of questions for me to ask you but I figured I'd ask the most important ones and get it over with quickest."

"A whole list of questions?"

"Yeah, you were kind of dragging ass when we were carrying you back to the room last night. So, again, I ask how are you feeling?"

"Better, still a little drained, but a lot better."

"Okay. Um, I can't remember any of the other questions so that's that."

"You sure you didn't just want to know, and you're using Sam as an excuse?" The mirth filling the emerald eyes made Dean want to smile, and at the same time grab hold of the polo Harry was wearing and yank him closer.

"Okay, we both wanted to know."

"That's what I thought." Harry smirked and the dryer buzzed and he nudged Dean's legs with a hand so he could fold the sheets. Dean swiveled and pulled his legs up so he was sitting Indian style on top of the dryer, hands managing to brush against Harry's back every time he pulled a sheet out of the dryer.

"Dean." Harry warned, the second time he did it, hands lingering longer.

"Harry." Dean answered back pretending he had no idea what the warning was about.

"Would you stop? That is extremely distracting." Harry finished folding the sheet he was working on and glared at Dean.

"Really?"

"No." Harry rolled his eyes. "So, I've got a question about last night, or this morning, that's been bothering me."

"Okay, go for it." Harry took in the raised brow, and snatched a sheet quickly from the dryer and started folding it before voicing his question.

"It felt like while I was warding that there was someone, or something, there watching me or us. Did you guys notice anything?"

"There was someone across the street, watching." Dean said carefully. "He didn't get close, and I almost went after him when he ran off but I couldn't leave you."

"Did you get a good look?" Harry asked, taking in the tightness in Dean's arms and his shoulders.

"All I could see was light brown hair, and that was because he accidentally ran under a light pole." Dean chewed on the edge of his thumb for a moment and then looked back to Harry. "He couldn't have been much taller than you though, just a few inches. Shorter than me. But that's all I can really tell you."

"Did you get a look at his clothes?"

"No, I wasn't really looking at his clothes, Harry. I was kind of busy." Dean snapped.

"I know that, I wasn't accusing you otherwise. At least you got a look at him. I just thought I might have been imagining things."

"No, you weren't imagining things." Dean shrugged. "You finished with all this? Cause Bobby and Sam should be pulling up anytime now."

"Yeah, let me just put these up real quick and I'll head back to the room."

"Alright, see you in a few." Dean ran a hand across the expanse of Harry's shoulders and walked out the room. The shrill of Harry's cell phone broke the silence of the room and he answered it while shelving the sheets.

"Hey, Harry. It's Neville. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, I did some digging on that information you asked about and I got a few names for you, and I know you aren't really going to like what I give you, but it's a starting point."

"Okay, just give me a second. I need to find a pen and some paper." Harry muttered as he made quick work getting back to his room and located paper. "Okay, what have you got?"

"Well, most of the exiled people are actually dead. They've been changed from living to deceased on living family trees, so we're assuming that's correct. There is one that just disappeared though, completely. Walden McNair, who was a death eater." Neville explained and Harry wrote as quickly as he could. "Then there is Amelius Agrippa, he's a descendent of Cornielius Agrippa, who was imprisoned by muggles for his 'evil' writings, and Amelius went rogue a year or two before you were exiled and started murdering people."

"Sounds like he's the one who should have been imprisoned." Harry absently commented.

"My thoughts exactly." Neville chuckled. "Anyways, the next part you really aren't going to like. Ernie Macmillan turned dark after his fiancé was murdered. He lost his mind and they didn't execute him for his crimes. Which were not published and no one knew what he did, but again he's suspected dead."

"Alright."

"And here's were it gets a little bit worse. The ministry has been overly cautious of what are labeled dark creatures. If you slip up once, you get shipped off or you are stripped of your magic and that means you're dead. Romilda Vane chose to be shipped off, and she's a werewolf."

"She'll probably be dead soon, Neville." Harry huffed out a breath. "If she can't lock herself up, there are people here who will kill her."

"I know about the hunters, Harry."

"Okay then."

"And the last exiled person is a metamorphmagus."

"No." Harry saw red.

"It's Teddy. As soon as he turned seventeen they shipped him out. He was labeled a threat to the government."

"Fuck."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"I know, Neville. Just, thanks for doing this."

"Not a problem."

"Well, I should go." Harry brushed a hand through his hair. "Tell Grace I said hello for me."

"Will do, and tell those Winchester's to watch out for you." Harry let out a booming a laugh, in effort to avoid hysterics.

"Sure thing, Nev. Sure thing." Harry set his phone down carefully on the table. Otherwise he was afraid he would have slammed his phone down hard enough to break it into pieces.

"Want to tell me want that was about?"

"I got that list of exiled people from my world." Harry swallowed and looked up at Dean. " I knew a few people on that list. That world, although it is better without the dark wizards and what not, has gone a little crazy." Harry gave Dean a terse smile. "If you are considered a dark creature, like a werewolf, and you mess up once you have two options: to have your magic stripped or to be exiled."

"Which means you either die or come here?" Dean asked for clarification.

"Yes, and Romilda Vane came here. She's probably going to be dead soon." Harry shrugged. "It's not that I knew her or I'm jumping on the band wagon advocating werewolf rights, but it's that they're not taking care of their own."

"What about this McNair guy? You put deceased by his name."

"Supposedly, his name disappeared from all records. He could be dead, or he could be alive. Ernie Macmillan, he was in the same year as me, he went insane. I don't believe he'd have any amount of control to pull this off. Again, he's assumed dead." Harry continued with his explanations. "Agrippa though, he's another story altogether. His ancestors were imprisoned for 'evil' writings, which was magic. So, he is bitter and he ended up turning dark and is looking for revenge."

"What about Teddy Lupin?" Harry glanced down at the scrawl of the name and swallowed before speaking about him.

"He's a metamorphmagus, and that's why he was exiled. He can change his appearance at will. It can be his whole appearance or just bits and pieces, like the color of his hair or his eyes. I believe Neville said the government saw him as a risk to security."

"Could he do this?"

"Possibly." Harry fought the need to shout 'no' and thought it over reasonably, or as reasonably as an honorary brother could do so. "He definitely has the control to do so, just with the fact of him having the metamorphmagus ability. The concentration and depth of control, it'll make you clumsy in other areas. His parents died right after birth and he lost all of his family to the war. To top it all off the government shipped him off for a magical inheritance he had no control over."

"I don't see him doing that though." Dean said lowly to himself and then looked out the window as he heard the growl of the Chevelle pull into the motel parking lot. "He might have dealt a bad hand, but you don't just snap because something bad has happened." Dean looked out the window to see Bobby get out of the passenger seat and watched as Sam unfolded himself from the driver's seat. "Let's go help them out, never know if they ended up bringing more stuff back than what they left with."

Stepping out into the humidity, Harry grimaced and headed for the Chevelle to grab the duffels and put the weapons in their rightful places. Sam was already at the trunk of the car and Bobby was leaning against the car.

"Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Dean asked, gathering everyone's attention.

"New car by the office." Harry glanced over taking in the blacked out windows on the Infiniti G35 and the chrome trim.

"That's the new long-term renter." Harry answered as they all took in the car. "Didn't leave a name, paid for everything up front, and guess where he's staying?"

"I'm going to say next door?" Sam answered.

"Yeah." Harry shook his head and started placing his weapons in their compartments as Sam and Dean moved theirs to the Impala and into the room. "Where's Bobby going?" Harry asked noticing that Bobby had headed for the office.

"He's getting a room." Sam answered after a moment of silence. "I told him that we had something we needed to talk about and it could take a while." Sam shrugged and headed for Harry's room.

"Alright, so now I get to find out what you've been trying to tell me the past few days, Sam?" Dean said following on Sam's heels. Harry kicked a clump of dried dirt before following them into his room.

Walking into the room, Sam was sitting on one bed while Dean was camped on the other. They both turned to look at Harry as he stepped over the threshold, quietly shutting the door, setting everything in motion. "So." Harry took a deep breath.

"Which one of you is going to talk first?" Dean asked, eyes darting between Harry and Sam.

"Well, Dean. First there are going to be some ground rules to this conversation." Sam said softly.

"Rules? We're really going to be needing rules?"

"I think it would be for the best." Harry agreed as he pulled one of the chairs from the table and set it between the beds.

"Okay, so what are these rules?" Dean sounded like he was just humoring them.

"First, you listen to us fully. You can't just get up and walk out of here."

"Okay."

"You have to think about yourself, too, because you give up too much." Sam took to speaking to the wall over Dean's shoulder.

"Alright." Dean looked at Harry and then back towards Sam. "Are there any other rules?"

"You can't hit me." The words tumbled out of Sam's mouth before he could censor himself. "Or Harry."

"Do I even want to know what you have been trying to tell me, Sam? Because from the way this sounds so far, I have an inkling that I'm not really going to like it. At all."

"Well I know you and Harry have something going on. I don't really know what to call it, because I don't think either of you would call it anything. It just is." Sam watched as his brother unconsciously as he angled his body towards Harry's at the spoken words, while his eyes stayed focused on Sam.

"Okay, so we've got that. Harry and I have something going on." Dean's body signaled he was closing off, that he was going to be listening to the rest of what Sam had to say. "Just like it was pretty obvious from when I came back in here from helping Bobby bury those bodies that something had been going on between you two." Dean was radiating anger.

"Look Dean, it wasn't supposed to happen that way. I was supposed to talk to you first, before anything had happened." Sam interrupted.

"Does it make it any better Sam?" Dean shouted, and he turned it towards Harry. "You were going to let him talk to me by himself?"

As much as it pained him to do so, Harry answered the question with honesty. "It wouldn't have been right, but yes I was."

"So what changed your mind?" Dean asked, surprising both Sam and Harry.

"It wouldn't have been right."

They sat in the quiet of the room, the only sounds as company was the whirl of the air conditioner as it kicked on, when Dean looked back towards Harry. "So who are you going to pick? You can't have both of us, it doesn't work out that way."

"I'm not picking." Harry shrugged. "Because it doesn't work out that way, Dean." Harry used Dean's words. "When you find happiness you hold onto it. You don't toss it out the window to make someone else happy. Even, if it is your brother. We've seen how well that's worked out haven't we? You take the weight of the world on your shoulders and Sam sits here worrying whether or not you'll be okay. When he knows there's one thing that'll make you okay."

"Happiness." Dean snorted. "And I do not take the weight of the world on my shoulders."

"You do, you act like he's all you have left in the world and you protect him as if he's already a mirror shattered in its frame." Harry pointed towards Sam. "Well Dean, I found my happiness with you and Sam. And if I can't have it with both of you, then I don't want either of you as a reminder as what I can't have."

"What are you saying Harry?" Sam stood up, eyes widening.

"You don't understand what we are Harry." Dean groaned in frustration. "I can't, well we can't give you anything you need."

"Really." Harry grabbed Dean's chin and forced Dean to look him in the eye. "Because I'm pretty sure of what you both are. From here, you look like a fraction of who you were when I first met you. You both have lost so much, and have tumbled in and out of so many lives. You, Dean Winchester, are a broken soul and him," Harry moved Dean's head towards Sam. "He, is just as fractured as you are."

Harry released Dean's chin from his hold. "You're both war torn, and going on fumes most of the time. You think I don't realize who you are? Or that you can't give me what I need? I don't remember the last time I've slept through the night even after I've had nightmares before you two showed up."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "I'm starting to think that Winchester's are the idiots here, and Potter's don't come anywhere near the line on this one."

Harry headed for the door, frustration prickling underneath his skin. "What I'm saying Sam, is that we can't just be friends. And if he is too stupid to realize what is in front of him, then that's fine. I'll pack your shit for you, but don't stop here again. Just keep driving." He answered as he walked out the door.

"So he can leave?" Dean asked after a few moments of silence.

"Dean, don't even start."

"Well what did you expect when I knew this was going on the entire time, Sam? You can't just expect me to say, 'yeah, sure, let's all jump into bed and celebrate'." Dean rolled his eyes.

"No, what I expected was for you to be reasonable and to listen to us. Then maybe take a little while to think about it, maybe even a few days if you needed. But that," Sam slung a hand towards the door, "was not what I expected to come from this at all."

"Harry kicking us to the curb?" Dean asked as he headed for his duffel bag, shoving a few loose items into it. "No big deal, not like we're missing out on anything."

Sam watched as Dean's eyes stayed closed for a few moments, the heave of his chest as he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. The way his hands fumbled and readjusted what he had just placed in the duffel. Yeah right, Dean wasn't going to be missing anything at all. To Sam it seemed like Harry managed to worm his way into their lives and Sam wasn't letting Dean ruin this. Not now while they still had a hunt going on, a hunt that Harry could help them out more than they could help themselves out with. Not when they finally had a chance for something brighter.

"Dean, you are the biggest ass in Louisiana." Sam kicked the duffel out of Dean's reach. "You think I'm going to let you screw this up? If I have to tie you up you are not leaving this room tonight. You are going to think this over."

"Who died and made you king?"

"Sometimes older brother's need to be protected too, Dean."

"What's that suppose to mean, Sam?"

"That means you're afraid of what all this means." Sam gestured wildly around the room. "You find one sliver of hope, a ray of light in this fucking black hole of darkness and you want to throw it all away. Well, I'm saying no. I'm not letting you do this. I can't let you rip yourself to shreds for me again."

"I'm not afraid, Sam." Dean wiped at the corner of his eye.

"Yes, you are."

"No I'm just bringing us back to reality. All of this is a damn fantasy. No one can have this. No one has ever had something like this."

"See, you are afraid." Sam smirked at the sight of Dean grinding his teeth together, and his fists clenching white.

"If you say that one more time Sammy."

"Then prove it, and I won't say it." Sam watched as Dean strode to the door, yanked it open and leaned out for a moment.

"Get your ass back in here." Dean yanked the collar of Harry's shirt and Harry stumbled back into the room and against his chest before Harry righted himself. "So we do this, how's it work out?"

"Go with the flow." Harry answered in nonchalance, hiding behind the walls he learned so long ago to build up around him.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Sam asked, noticing the hollowness in his voice.

"Why should I bother? He's going to leave. You're both going to leave. You don't want this. Either of you." Harry shouted across the room. "It was a mistake in the first place even believing for a moment I could be happy. That you two could be happy." Harry slumped on the bed and groaned in frustration. "It always happens like this. The one thing I get, the one moment of pure relief, it just gets yanked out from underneath me."

The Winchester's watched as Harry started to slowly crumble in his insecurity. The one person who had been so confident that this was going to work out was terrified of losing two of the most stubborn hunters to stumble into his life.

Sam watched as Dean stepped closer to Harry, and crouched in front of him. Placing hands on Harry's knees, Dean captured Harry's attention. "It's not going to happen this time, Harry." Sam could see the emerald orb's swimming in unshed tears as they gazed into Dean's eyes, searching for any deception in the statement and then they turned on Sam.

"We can't let you think that any of this was a mistake." Sam acknowledged the need for Harry to hear them both say that this was all right. That he wasn't alone in needing this.

"You aren't alone, Harry." Dean whispered, giving as much as a confession as he could with those words. Harry's eyes trailed up Sam's body and then to Dean crouched in front of him. Leaning in closer towards Dean, Harry traced the curve of his jaw and felt it when his lips started to turn upwards into soft satisfaction. The bed dipped behind him, and he sighed, hand still brushing against Dean's cheek, when a soft pair of lips descended on to the nape of his neck.

"Not alone." Sam whispered against the lobe of Harry's ear.

"Neither are you." Harry closed his eyes, forehead against Dean's, hand grasping Sam's. Moving to get comfortable on his bed, Harry ended up curled between the Winchester's. Sam began tracing patterns against the small of his back and Dean's hand was resting on his waist, legs slowly tangling between Harry's again.

"I'm glad that's over with." Dean murmured through a sleepy haze, causing Sam's body to shake with laughter. Harry gave a smile in the darkness, feeling the ache that pressed against his chest dissipate with Sam's laughter at Dean's comment.


	11. Chapter 11

Waking up first isn't always the greatest thing in the world. There were times when Harry once cherished waking up before others, but here and now he wished he could have been the one woken up, instead of having to do the waking. The rarely used coffee maker was calling to him from across the room and he slithered out from between the protection of the Winchester's, made a grab for his glasses and braved the cold air and carpet.

Harry pulled out three mugs for the coffee as he waited for it to brew and pulled out the stash of milk he had hidden in the mini-fridge. He internally thanked Leigh for convincing him to purchase a newer one to store little things like milk in it, and gathered the sugar from the kitchen drawers while listening to the soft whine of the coffee maker and the light breaths of Sam and Dean. Filling each cup, he added enough sugar and milk to make Sam's cup sweeter than his, but not nearly as black as Dean's. Harry placed Dean's mug on the nightstand nearest and repeated the action with Sam's on the opposite side, before maneuvering between the brothers to sit and sip his coffee. Harry waited for them to rouse from the scent.

"Smells, really good." Sam murmured into his pillow and turned over and gave Harry a beaming smile before scooting up to the headboard. Harry learned over and handed Sam his mug before going back to his own. Harry had finished his coffee and set the cooling mug on leg as he trailed his fingers up and down Dean's spine. Sam snorted in amusement as Dean started to hum.

"He's purring again."

"Not." Dean muttered and spotted the coffee cups in their hands. "You better have left some for me."

"Nightstand." Harry nodded to it.

"Oh, this is good." Dean inhaled the coffee. Flashing Harry a quick smile and a muffled, "thanks," Dean headed for the bathroom and Harry turned to look at Sam and rolled his eyes.

"At least I got a thank you." Sam smirked and ran his fingers through Harry's hair.

"Thanks."

"I was awake, nothing big." Harry shrugged and picked up the empty cups to clean them. "So, everything went okay with that priest I'm assuming?"

"Yeah. He just soaked everything he could in holy water and blessed the rock salt. Nothing exciting, but we got his contact info so I figured we'd put it into the journal."

"Your dad's?" Harry asked while drying out one of the mugs.

"No. I started one a little while back. It just felt like I should keep track of what we did and knew of for future reference rather than always depending on him."

"It's a good idea." Harry moved over to the table and took in the scattered mess of papers that had taken up residence over the past few days and with a barely audible sigh sat in one of the chairs and started to organize it.

"You know, you could ask for help with this." Sam stood behind him, hands on Harry's shoulders causing him to pause.

"I could, but then I might get sidetracked." Harry resumed making neater piles of the papers. Soon there was a stack for the research done for the warding, and another for the list of names Neville had given him. "You know, that journal idea is genius. Loose papers like this, anyone could get their hands on them. They could even get thrown in the trash." The shower turned off and they could hear Dean fumbling around in the bathroom.

"See if Dean will go get some breakfast. I'm starving." Sam pulled out a pair of jeans and a green button down and headed for the bathroom and a few steps before he got to the door it clicked open.

"Shower's all yours, Sammy."

"I take it I don't get any hot water?"

"Nope." Dean answered sitting across from Harry. "What did I miss?"

"Decided to get a journal to organize this mess." Harry gestured towards the stacks of papers. "Don't know when I'll get one, but it'll make keeping everything together easier."

"Who's idea was that?" Dean asked with a raised brow.

"Your dad's actually. Other than deciding to get a journal, just cleaned the coffee mess up."

"Didn't ask Sam about what happened while you were warding?"

"I figured I'd save us all the hassle of going through that numerous times and just wait for Bobby." Harry scratched at his forehead and Dean grabbed his hand.

"Still bothering you?"

"Kind of. Anyways, Sam said you should go get breakfast. And I agree. Since you are the only one currently dressed for the day and clean."

"Right, I see how this is going to be. I'll be the chauffer and errand boy?"

"Bloody sexy chauffer and errand boy." Harry muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just said we voted, and you missed out." Harry smirked.

"Really?" Dean licked his lips and grabbed the keys to the Impala and headed towards the door. "Cause from where I was sitting, it sounded like you said I was sexy." Dean laughed as he took in Harry's faint blush and headed out the door in search of breakfast.

The shower was lukewarm by the time Harry got around to it, and after brushing his teeth and managing to tame his hair a little bit, Dean was back with food. They crowded the table and ate in a comfortable quiet when there was a knock on the door. Harry moved to answer it but Sam's hand on his shoulder halted his movement.

"Just Bobby." Dean answered and watched as Sam pulled another chair up to the table for Bobby to grab a plate.

"So, what's with the stacks of paper?" Bobby pointed towards them with a fork.

"Just some information. This," Harry plucked the list of names off the top of the pile and placed it next to Bobby, "was given to me yesterday. I'll go over it after we finish eating if that's okay?"

"Fine by me." Bobby watched each of the younger hunters as they ate, trying to discern what had happened the night before. Whether or not the outcome had been positive or negative and if they had chosen to ignore the entire situation. It must not have been terrible. Dean kept picking the hash browns off of Sam's plate and Sam didn't say anything about it. Then, whenever Harry thought Sam wasn't looking, he placed the tomatoes he didn't like on his eggs on the outer edge of Sam's plate.

"So," Bobby interrupted the domesticity, "I figured we needed to talk about the warding and this list of names. Then whoever that new tenant is, you need to figure it out Harry."

"Alright. So what's first?" Harry pushed his Styrofoam plate towards the center of the table.

"Well, this list of names. I figured I'll call around, see if I can't find anything out about them."

"If Nev calls with anything new I'll let you know, but I doubt there's going to be anyone else that shows up. He pretty much said everyone else who was exiled was dead. While I'm working I can see if I can find anything out about the new guy. See if he's a threat."

"Good, the sooner we figure him out the better." Bobby looked at Sam and Dean for a moment. "So, Dean."

"Bobby." Dean said hastily, figuring out where the conversation was headed, Dean figured he was about to get bitched out.

"You ever going to do what you did again? As much as we want to get this guy, we've got to stick together."

For Bobby, that was a pretty tame scolding. There wasn't any way Dean was going to screw this one up. Short and to the point, no way he could dig himself into a grave with this one. "Nope. Sticking together."

"Glad we got that cleared up. Damn near gave your brother a heart attack and I can't have him running off to save you for something like that with demons running around."

"Did you see him?" Harry broke into the conversation. "Cause I felt him, and Dean saw him. But did you two see him?"

"No, I just saw Dean take off after him. I stayed back to help Bobby after he knocked some sense into me." Sam placed his empty plate on top of Harry's and wiped his hands clean.

"Not a thing, kid. So what exactly do these wards of yours do?"

"Stop those demons, or anyone for that matter, from apparating into the perimeter of the motel. Also, if anything happens to get through the wards, they can't apparate out of here unless they are out of the wards. Then there are extra layers of protection weaved into the spell. The holy water and juniper intensified that part of it. I also set up a warning to when something with ill intent towards any of us enters the area, I'll know it when it happens." Harry tapped his temple.

"So, just putting it simply, it's like you hear warning bells with out the warning bells?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much." Harry grinned. "That might be a little troublesome, loud ringing while you're trying to fight, yeah?"

"Anything else they do?" Bobby asked while he piled the Styrofoam plates into the paper bag Dean brought the food in.

"Nothing other than what I told you." Harry tried his best not to bite the inside of his mouth or anything else to give himself away. The wards did do a little more. He just wasn't willing to let them in on the secret. It was his way of protecting the Winchester's and Bobby, and if he just so happened to add them into the mix so he could know if anything was wrong with them and he could get to any of them, then so be it. They didn't have to know about it.

"If you're sure. Well I've got a job for Dean and Sam. Should only take a couple of days." Bobby stood up for a moment and searched his pockets. "Left the papers in my room. I'll be right back." Bobby continued talking as he headed out the door.

They sat in silence as they waited for Bobby to return with his information. Dean was tapping his fingers impatiently against the tabletop and Sam rested his head against the scarred tabletop. Harry leaned back and took in the ceiling and huffed out a breath. "Well, if you're not going to say what we're all thinking, I will. God damn it." Harry took in the way Dean bit into his lips to contain his laughter and Sam just shook his head. They all jumped with Bobby burst through the room, sidestepping the salt lines and sat back down at the table.

"A lone vampire, up around the outskirts of Shreveport. Recently turned from the looks of it, but she needs to be taken care of." Bobby handed Sam the papers. "Her name is O'Reily, and she's pretty vicious. I'm assuming it has to do with the way she was turned." Bobby pulled at the collar of his flannel shirt. "She wasn't popular as a human. When she was turned she was probably going to be just a meal but something went wrong and here she is, a vampire."

"Are we going to run into trouble, Bobby?" Dean asked.

"She hangs around a foreclosed café that hasn't been torn down yet. Anyone who gets near it, she tears apart. Very blood thirsty, but you two can handle it, after the nest you've taken care of. One vampire should be fine for the two of you."

"Sounds like we're going to have an awesome night." Dean's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Well, Sammy. Lets go pack. You can fill me in on all the details on the way."

"What are you going to be doing, Bobby?" Harry asked as Bobby made to leave the room.

"I've got some research to do." Bobby waved the paper in the air. "I'll be back here sometime tonight, no need to worry."

"Right, be careful though."

"You tell that to those two." Bobby headed out for the day leaving Harry with the Winchester's.

"You'd say it's about five and a half hours to Shreveport?" Dean asked as he shouldered the bag.

"If you don't run into traffic, yeah." Harry answered as he opened the door for them to walk out. "But you'll hit traffic on I-10 and then again when you switch onto I-49. It'll probably be more like six, six and a half."

"Hate traffic." Dean grumbled as he tossed the bag in the trunk, slamming it closed.

"Eh, just turn the music up loud." Harry laughed when Sam winced. "Or not."

"So while we're tracking a newly turned vampire and killing her, you're going to be doing a little recon on your new neighbor. Got any ideas on how you're going to go about doing that?" Sam asked from where he had propped against the Impala.

"Get a name. Since Bobby's doing some research I'll call him and let him know. Other than that I can snoop when I clean." Harry glanced back towards the room next to his. "I might have a few other tricks up my sleeve, but I rather have a couple extra sets of eyes and ears on hand when I try them out. Plus, this guy could just be relatively harmless."

"You really believe that?" Sam asked, crossing his ankles, giving Harry an amused look.

"No." Harry swallowed. "Well, you two need to get going to get there before sun down. Maybe you can get a head start on tracking her location down tonight. Let me know you're alive." Harry left the unspoken 'be careful' trail off in his mind, figuring they would know to be careful. Whether they actually were or not was a different story.

"Will do, and you let us know if you find anything interesting out?" Dean nodded as he slid into the Impala.

"We'll call you." Sam said out the window before Dean cranked up and pulled out of the parking lot.

Harry waited a few beats before he moved from where he was standing and headed for the office to see what tortures Leigh had in store for him today. A part of his brain was hoping that she wasn't in the office yet so he could sneak a look at the guest book without her suspicions looming overhead. He could always use the angle that the guy was going to be living next to him for the next month or so, didn't he have to the right to know his name at least? Okay, not really, but he'd still snoop even if she were in the office.

Pushing through the glass door, Leigh was doodling on one of the complimentary notepads he usually tossed on a table after a guest left for the next guest to doodle on just like Leigh was doing. "Harry, Harry, Harry. What have you been up to with those two?" She focused her attention on him with a playful smile. "Because I have to say, its interesting watching them go in and out of your room at random times. And I wish I had someone to bring me breakfast. How did you manage that one?"

"Did you have a lot of sugar or caffeine this morning?"

"Just bored."

"Saw the new guest got here yesterday. Does he have a name now?"

"Yeah, it's," She snapped her fingers and flipped through the guest book, "Ernest Tweed." She giggled. "I'm thinking he's using fake information, just like your boys."

"What?" Harry snapped around.

"Well, hello. Those two are Sam and Dean Winchester, but they signed in under the last name, Lommi. If I'm correct, that's the guitarist from Black Sabbath." Harry couldn't remember if he introduced them as Dean and Sam or if he had even bothered at all. He knew he introduced Bobby as the real Bobby, but he was starting to get lost in his mind. And since when did Leigh listen to Black Sabbath?

"Okay, if you say so. What are the plans today, anyone checked in or out?" Harry grimaced at how ominous that sounded in his mind. All he could think about at the moment was getting out of the office and grabbing some holy water, because the Leigh he was talking to was not the real Leigh.

"Guy in room seven checked out this morning, and then rooms one to four are going to be occupied at some point today so make sure everything is tidy."

"Sure thing." Harry headed out of the office and made a beeline for his room and snapped up the flask of holy water. Hopefully by lunch she'd still be in there and he'd know what was going on with her. He was stuck at the motel with no backup, or any mode of transportation out of there. Unless he made a run to get out of the wards and apparated out, he was truly stuck.

After cleaning the rooms, Harry rationalized the idea of spilling holy water on Leigh. He left a message on Bobby's voice mail, leaving the new tenant's name, told Bobby his plans and hoped he got there before he actually went through with it. It was after noon by the time Harry made it back towards the office to do his usual check in. Leigh was still sitting on the chair with that grin plastered on her face. That grin made everything stand on edge. Before walking into the office Harry sprinkled enough holy water on his hand to cause damage brushing against Leigh's arm.

Harry fake stumbled over his shoes, landing hard against the counter, hand flinging out to catch him self and he brushed against Leigh's arm. She looked up and clicked her tongue, eyes going black. "Oh, Harry, you know that's only going to sting me. Plus damage her porcelain skin." Harry stepped backwards, heading for the safety of his room. "See, earlier I wondered why you zipped out of here so fast. I thought I was doing such a great job at this," Leigh gestured towards her body, "but then I realized. You never introduced the Winchester's, at least not to me. Not common knowledge in this world. Nope, not common knowledge at all."

Harry kept his eyes on her as he made his way out of the office and towards his room, hoping he could get her into the bathroom and everything would be okay. "Then you had to ward the place, do you know how difficult it was to stay in here for longer than a few hours at a time. It was hard, must have been that holy water you sprinkled all over the place. Then she took over yesterday, practically spilled the beans on me." Keeping the demon talking would keep it distracted. Harry was hoping to avoid using his magic as a last resort. The panic seeping through his veins was crying out to his magic trying to protect him from the obvious threat in front of him as he stepped backwards towards his room.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he tried to keep his mind focused on getting to his room and away from his magic. No need to provoke her if he could get her trapped.

"Oh, well you see, that's the funny thing Harry. We don't really know." Leigh jumped closer towards him. "We just know to kill the Winchester's, but you can't seem to let that happen. According to this one, you've gotten attached." The demon tapped against Leigh's forehead. "But you on the other hand, we're supposed to immobilize you. Bring you to our fearless leader." She cackled to herself. "Which you are conveniently making this a lot easier for me to get you there. The closer west you move, the higher in ranks I move." Harry stopped in his tracks. The farther west he moved, the closer he got to his room, but it was also closer to the new tenant's room. "Why are you stopping love? I was starting to enjoy our little game?" Harry felt the magic building up in his palms, and hit her with an Impedimenta curse; he turned and took off for his room. He was only given a few seconds before he heard the hellish growl behind him and a quick glance over his shoulder he saw Leigh was close behind him. Harry flung the door open, thanking Merlin he had the foresight to vanish the salt line in front of the door and set up the bathroom. Now, he only had to make it passed the beds and into the bathroom with Leigh for his plan to work. Otherwise, he was fucked.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bobby climbed into the Chevelle and checked his cell phone, seeing a few missed calls and a voicemail. Grumbling to himself, Bobby set to checking the calls. All of them were from Harry. Immediately moving to his voicemail he listened and cursed whoever decided it was good idea to ask if he really wanted to listen to the message or not.

"Bobby, it's Harry. Look, something isn't right at the motel. Leigh, she's one of them and I'm going to figure it out. I'm setting up the bathroom just incase she is. I'll get her there and trapped, just like a miniature bunker. There's a devil's trap on the ceiling and floor, mirror images. Look I'm doing this in an hour, so hurry up mate."

That was around eleven thirty, and it was quickly approaching noon. Harry was about to get himself killed. Harry wasn't the only one who noticed the little changes in attitude around the girl, Bobby caught onto the blank stares, and the expressions that didn't fit her personality. Bobby pushed his foot harder onto the gas pedal and dialed Sam's phone while he tried to speed through the forty-five minute drive back to the motel.

"What's up, Bobby?"

"Turn around now." Bobby growled into his phone.

"What?"

"I said, turn around. Harry's done something really stupid and I have a feeling we're going to need all hands on deck." Bobby heard the sound of Sam telling Dean to turn around and head back. Bobby wasn't getting any argument from the Winchester's.

"What's going on, Bobby? We're probably a good hour and a half away."

"Your boy is catching himself the right hand man of the guy who controls the demon's or at least one of his henchmen and he's doing it alone." Bobby ignored a red light and the blare of horns that followed as he flew through the intersection. "Left me a damn message saying what he had planned."

"Where are you?"

"About thirty minutes out, and he left this message about an hour ago. That damn counter girl is who it is."

"Leigh?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, she's been off for a little while and something spooked Harry if he's doing this without a way out."

"Shit." Sam muttered into the phone. "He can't just pop out of there if he runs into trouble, and you have his car."

"Not like I knew he was planning this!" Bobby eased up on the gas as the Chevelle leaned into a curve.

"I know Bobby, just do you have any idea what his plan is?" It sounded like Sam switched Bobby onto speaker.

"The message said something along the lines of getting her to the bathroom. He's setting it up like the bunker. Except all you can really do in that small space is the devil's trap which is what he's doing. Something about mirror images with it."

"Making it a stronger trap." Bobby could practically hear the wheels spinning in Sam's head.

"What's he plan on doing with her when he gets her trapped?" Dean's voice filtered through the headset.

"I have no idea, Dean. I'm about twenty five minutes out, but you two need to shag ass."

"You got it, Bobby." Dean said before Bobby flipped his phone shut and concentrated on getting to the motel before Harry got himself killed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry felt the impact before he saw her move. He was rolling on the floor and into the foot of his bed. He choked as the wind was knocked out of him. "That was too easy." Leigh muttered as she stood over Harry, nudging at his side. Harry grabbed her ankle and yanked hard enough to knock her off balance and she was falling backwards onto the floor.

"Really?" Harry drew in breaths around the word and grabbed her shirt, attempting to drag her towards the bathroom.

"No Harry. We don't play like this." She twisted out of his grip and a fist landed against his nose, fast and hard. The right lens of his glasses cut into the flesh on his nose and he grimace. He sent out an Everte Statum curse, sending her airborne and she landed against the wall with a resounding thump as her head bounced against it. "So, we're playing with magic then?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What does he think he is doing?" Dean's nostrils flared in anger and Sam clutched at the phone in his hand. "Couldn't this have waited until we got back? Or maybe he could have done this right after we left so it wouldn't take so long to get back?"

"You heard what Bobby said, Dean." Sam pocketed his phone and looked out the window and the cars started to pass in a blur. "Something spooked him and that's why he acted that way."

"He could have called, Sammy." Dean looked up and then back towards the interstate. "Call me so I know you're alive." Dean mocked Harry. "The idiot is going to get himself killed. Then who are we going to call? Bobby?" Sam snorted and then he started laughing. "My point exactly, Sam."

"This is not a laughing matter." Sam said to himself. "I don't know why I'm laughing."

"Cause you're freaking out. Just like the rest of us in this car." Dean tried his best not to laugh when Sam turned in his seat to check the backseat to make sure they didn't have any tag-a-longs. "How much longer till we get back?" Sam waited for the next sign on the interstate before he calculated the miles into time and answered.

"An hour and fifteen minutes. Probably an forty-five with the way you're driving."

"Shit. Call Bobby back, see what's going on." Dean's fingers griped tightly against the steering wheel as he waited for Sam to start speaking with Bobby in the 'everything's okay' tone he used when everything seemed to start spiraling out of control, but Dean wasn't hearing anything. "What's going on?"

"He's not picking up, Dean." Sam rubbed a head across his brown and frowned against the harsh glare of the afternoon sun.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

No, Harry really didn't want to play epic magic battle with the demon possessing Leigh. He probably already gave her a concussion with the last spell and he really didn't want to leave her with any more scars if he could avoid it. That gleam in those endless black eyes was causing the anxiety to rise in his chest. All he needed to do was drag her demon ass into the devil's trap he had set up in the bathroom before he got his ass kicked.

Harry moved towards Leigh and yanked her arm hard enough she fell towards the floor and he kept dragging her until he felt a pair of teeth sink into his leg. "What the bloody hell, are you doing?"

"Getting away from you." She maneuvered onto her feet and swung out with a clenched fist. Harry ducked it and returned his own, giving up on the idea of saving Leigh's body from bruises. It was getting obvious that the five or so steps to get into the bathroom were going to be the toughest because she figured out there was a reason he was lugging her in that direction.

She started to lash out as he managed to push her closer towards the threshold of the bathroom room. Her punches were getting wilder, and she began to use her feet as a weapon. She landed a few of the harder punches and Harry alternated between pushing her into the bathroom and finally yanking her into the devil's trap when an off kilter kick caught him hard enough in the chest he started seeing spots. "Shit." Harry pushed her the last bit and she was trapped, and howling to get out. Harry sat hard on the floor, waiting for the spots to go away, but if anything there were more spots appearing in his vision. "Damn it, Bobby. Where are you?"

"Right behind you, kid. You were so busy getting your ass handed to you, you didn't hear me come in here." Bobby took in the infuriated Leigh, standing at the edge of the trap, howling but no sound coming out of her mouth. "What's with the mute button?"

"You try listening to her after she bit the buggering fuck out of your leg. Help a bloke up?" Bobby rolled his eyes, but grabbed an arm and pulled Harry out of the bathroom.

"Got a plan with what you're going to do with her, cause that's your only bathroom. Not that she'll complain but it might be awkward."

"Get her to the bunker," Harry suggested and then spat out, "or kill her. She's a fighter, but she didn't use magic at all. I think she might be important." Harry took in the cuts on his nose from his glasses and groaned.

"Any other ideas Einstein? Cause this one didn't work out too well in my opinion. Plus, I don't think they are going to let you leave their sight after this stunt, and we aren't all making that trip. Especially when they still have a vampire to take care of."

"They'll have that taken care of when they get back." Bobby decided Harry was the most clueless person on the planet at times.

"No, they're on their way back now. I expect that they'll be here in about," Bobby checked the clock on the wall, "an hour. So there's still a vampire to take care of after this." Bobby waved a hand around the destroyed room. Harry started moving things back to their rightful places with wordless magic, but there was a slight dent in the wall from where Leigh hit her head. "So, your plan?"

"Eh, I've got a mini-bunker you can toss her in. It's that abandoned warehouse. It'll hold her until I figure out another plan." Bobby's eyes widened then he blinked a few times, trying to comprehend why they ever needed to bring the demons a day's drive if Harry had a bunker himself.

"Help me get her to the Chevelle and I can handle her from there." was how he responded.

"No, we'll get her there together." Harry stood up and wobbled on his feet.

"No, you can handle getting her to the car, but not anywhere else. If I have to I'll call Sam or Dean to meet me there to help out. I'll back the Chevelle up to here and as soon as it's dark we'll move her."

"Sure." Harry nodded and fell backwards onto the bed. "But we have to be careful. She bites." Harry lifted up his pants leg and cringed at the teeth marked bruise that was forming. It was already swollen. "Really hard."

As soon as Bobby stepped out the door, Harry placed the salt line back in place and Leigh's howls broke the silencing spell he cast. Harry moved towards the bathroom and Bobby ran back into the room just in time to see a cloud of black dust race around the room searching for a way out. "Break the line!" Harry shouted, "I'm not getting possessed by that!" Bobby toed the salt line and it rushed out with Bobby watching to see where it went but it got lost in the shadows of the trees.

Harry was crouched over Leigh's body, checking her pulse. "She's alive, Bobby. I'm thinking she might need some medical attention." Harry's hand came away from her head bloodied.

"Harry?" Leigh sounded like she just woke up. "What am I doing here? And what is that on the ceiling?"

"You hit your head, Leigh." Harry tried to think of something. "I got into a tussle and asked if you could patch me up, hence the bloody mess I'm in. You passed out, smacked right into the counter." Harry looked up at the ceiling and then back at Leigh. "And there isn't a thing on the ceiling, I think it might be because you might have a concussion."

"I got her." Bobby scooped her up. "I'll drive her to the hospital and call your husband to explain everything on the way. Harry is going to stay here cause he's a mess and they'll want to check him out, too. I'll be talking to you in the morning."

"Okay." Harry nodded and watched as Bobby cleaned up the mess he made, not only for himself, but also for everyone.

"Damn it, Sam. The Chevelle isn't here." Dean's face fell as they pulled into the parking lot.

"That doesn't mean anything Dean." As soon as the Impala was parked both of the brothers were out of the car and heading for Harry's room. Dean slung the door open and startled Harry who was sitting against the headboard of his bed with alcohol swabs, a needle and suture kit lying out on a blanket, that had obviously been used. Harry's hair was damp and he was dressed in his usual sleep pants with one leg bunched up to the knee and with out a shirt on.

"What the hell happened? And what were you thinking?" Dean moved to take in the mess. There were discarded gauze and an empty bottle of disinfectant in the trash bin. Dean spotted the bite mark. "She bit you?"

"Hurt like hell, too."

"What did you have to stitch…?" Dean trailed off when he saw the two stitches on Harry's nose. "What happened?"

"The lens on my glasses. Apparently they cut into flesh when you get punched hard enough."

"What else do we need to know about?" Sam asked from where he was standing.

"Just the bruise on my chest where she kicked me." Harry placed his hand over it, trying to cover up the damage.

"So where is she?" Dean asked as he peered around and into the bathroom.

"Leigh is in the hospital, being treated for a concussion and broken fingers. The demon that had possessed her, long gone."

"So all this," Sam gestured to Harry's obvious wounds, "Was for nothing?"

"I wouldn't say that." Harry looked up to Sam. "She was a talkative demon, and she didn't use magic at all. She was just a fighter but she let a lot slip. She knew you use rock aliases and that I warded this motel. Apparently you two are okay to kill, but they have to immobilize me and bring me in. And whoever we are looking for is west of this room." Harry let them digest the information. "The only person west of this room, within the wards, is my next door neighbor. And she was fine with me walking that way, but as soon as I got her in here she panicked."

"Where's Bobby?" Dean stood, looking around the room.

"He took Leigh to the hospital. He said he'd be back in the morning. I assume I'm going to get my ass handed to me on a silver platter if his expression was anything to go by. Why?"

"Because, you can't just do that." Dean started picking up the leftover mess of the first aide kit Harry used to clean up his wounds. "Sam and I, we were in the Impala thinking horrible things."

"Well, I was. Dean was probably concentrating on not hitting cars as he passed them going way over the speed limit." Sam commented.

"No, I kept seeing Harry here dead because he was too stupid to wait for someone to come help him out." Dean's voice was steadily rising with every couple of words.

"She knew who you both were. I never told anyone your names. Did either of you stop and say, 'hello my name is Dean Winchester'?" Harry asked, stalling Dean's rant.

"No, we didn't." Sam answered. "So how did she know?"

"My point exactly, Sam, and I wasn't going to sit and wait for whatever was supposed to happen to happen. Did it just zip right over your heads that they are okay with killing the both of you?" Harry pulled his pants leg down and looked up at both of the Winchester's. "Because I'm sorry, but I'm stuck on the two of you being killed and me being kidnapped. Obviously I need to brush up on my hand-to-hand, because I've been getting by on luck."

"Look, you just can't do what you did today, ever again." The words rushed out of Sam's mouth. "It's just, you call someone and ask for help."

"We would have turned around." Dean shrugged out of his jacket and set it over the back of one of the chairs.

"What about the vampire?" Harry asked.

"Fuck the vampire. There are other hunters out there." Dean toed off his boots and glared at Harry.

"Plus, we are already on a case if you think about it. I don't get why Bobby sent us off in the first place." Sam started to undress also, starting with his shoes and then his jacket, and Harry was slowly losing interest in talking about demons and vampires.

"Probably cause we're closest and he figured it would be okay to send us out." Dean pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him in jeans and a white undershirt before he headed for the bathroom. Harry was lost in their conversation, busy watching Sam's fingers nimbly slip each button loose in his shirt and his arms slip out of the sleeves.

Harry's attention shifted as Dean walked out the bathroom in a pair of gym shorts and he made himself comfortable on the bed while Sam disappeared into the bathroom. "So, I thought we were over this whole Harry has to be the hero thing."

"You would have done the same thing if she was talking about killing only Sam." Harry mumbled staring up at the ceiling, surprised when Dean moved into his line of vision.

"Probably, but that just means we both have something to work on." The words were soft as they left Dean's mouth and mint from his toothpaste brushed against Harry's skin. Dean watched as Harry's pupils dilated in anticipation. "But you know what really bothers me about this whole thing, Harry?"

"What?"

"You let her bite you."

Dean shifted and placed Harry's legs across his lap. His fingers were gently brushing over the bruise.

"I did not let her bite me. I was dragging her into the bathroom and she latched onto my leg like it was dinner time."

"She marked you." Dean's tone was different, something Harry hadn't heard from him before. It was deeper, almost territorial. "I don't know about Sam, but that," Dean pointed to the bruise on Harry's leg, "doesn't belong anywhere on you. Not even coming from a fight."

Dean set Harry's legs back onto the bed, moving so he was facing Harry and he set a warm hand on Harry's thigh. "The only bite marks that belong on your skin are ours." Harry felt the air rush from his body at Dean's words, and his world narrowed down to the heat seeping through his pants leg.

"What are you going to do about it?" The challenge had barely left Harry's mouth before Dean's weight settled over his hips. Gasping at the contact, Dean slotted their mouths together as Harry's hands moved to Dean's neck and through his hair. Dean held Harry's face close, thrusting his tongue into Harry's mouth, tangling it with Harry's.

Harry felt the pads of Dean's thumbs stroking from the corners of his lips, tracing a tantalizing pattern against his cheek and back. Everything about this moment was different. It was deeper, and entirely overwhelming in desire.

Dean's lips trailed bursts of flames against Harry's jaw and then his neck as they broke for air. "You, need to move, and this to come off." Harry panted out between breaths, nudging his thigh against Dean's, tugging at the cotton pull-over. "You're heavy." Dean's mouth didn't leave Harry's skin as he slipped between Harry's thighs. Harry rolled his hips up into Dean's, searching for friction.

"Stop." Harry froze at the word, muscles tensing. Dean's hands gripped Harry's hips tight, but open mouthed, wet kisses trailed from his chest to his stomache and Dean fixated on his navel. The second Dean's tongue dipped into the hollow, followed with the sensation of his fingers brushing beneath the waistband of his pants, Harry arched up off the bed. Dean traced every scar on his chest, following each from beginning to end. Leaving no piece of skin untouched.

It left Harry unbound, being worshiped in the way Dean was doing so. Dean memorized each jagged ridge of the runes that had been burned into his skin, leaving him feeling alive.

Dean could feel, more than hear the noises Harry was making. They vibrated though his chest, making everything feel as though it were on fire. Harry laced his fingers through Dean's hair tugging him up towards his mouth again.

Sam stepped out of the bathroom and froze. He stood watching Dean over Harry, every thought was gone but the sight of Dean and the way his fingers dug into and bruised the flesh of Harry's hips as they ground against each other. The way the hard lines of their bodies moved, shifted and slid against another, searching for the friction to bring them into delirium. Then, the soft growls of pleasure that climbed their way out of Harry's throat. The way Dean moved his lips over Harry's as Harry tugged him back up for another open-mouthed kiss. Every movement, every caress tore a gasp from one of their mouths, swollen and wet.

The moment Harry bucked against Dean, body shuddering in release, his emerald eyes flickered to where Sam had stood still and watching. Harry's fingers dug hard into Dean's shoulder, grabbing purchase as he rode out the ecstasy. Sam turned and silently moved back towards the bathroom, hiding from that gaze that followed his every footstep.

"Dean," Harry gently prodded at him, rolling Dean off his body.

"Where are you going?"

"Clean up." Harry muttered as he headed into the bathroom after Sam. Harry nudged the door open slightly and peaked around it to see Sam sitting on the edge of the bathtub staring at the ceiling. "Sam," Harry crouched in front of him, "Are you okay?"

"I," Sam swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing, "am really turned on and I feel like I shouldn't be." Harry glanced down at Sam's lap and back at his face.

"Want help with that?"

"I think if you even touched me just once, I'd be gone." Sam hid his face in his hands. "I feel like a voyeur."

Harry snorted, pulling Sam's hands away from his face. "If you didn't catch on to it, I knew you were there. I was trying to get you on that bed." Harry pushed at Sam's knees, getting him to lower his legs to the ground. Harry crawled onto Sam's lap, and melded their mouths together. "What do you need, Sam?" Each word brushed Harry's lips against Sam's.

"Just you."

Dean was sitting against the headboard watching the bathroom when Harry walked out, with Sam trailing behind him. "Alright, since we're all satisfied can we go to sleep?" Harry raised a brow at Dean. "Just, with the noise, I swear if you didn't stop soon I was going to have to head in there." Harry slid into the rumpled covers and Sam next to him. "And just what did you do to him, to make him groan like that?"

Harry shot Dean a look saying, 'shut the hell up'. "Night, Dean. Night, Sam." Harry mumbled snuggling between the two.

"Well, am I going to get an answer?"

"Maybe he'll give you a demonstration, but that's what happens when you start without me." Sam rolled onto his side after aiming a wide grin at Dean.

"I'll hold him to it." Dean mumbled as he clicked off the light.


	12. Chapter 12

Even in his sleep, Dean's stomach still growled in hunger. It wasn't a polite reminder either. It sounded more like his stomach was about to start gnawing on his backbone if he didn't eat something and soon.

"Please tell me that is a hungry stomach growl." Sam rolled over and bunched a pillow over his head, attempting to hide from the world for a little bit longer.

"Probably is, Sam. We did skip dinner last night." Harry grinned when Sam peeked out from underneath the pillow. His eyes flickering across the exposed muscles, drinking in the sight of the marred skin before he went back to hiding beneath his pillow. "I guess that means I get to take care of you two again." Harry was about to crawl towards the foot of the bed to change clothes and find some sort of food for them to eat when Dean's arm shot out stopping him.

"I got it." Was muffled into the pillow before Dean rolled off the bed and frowned when he didn't see the duffle bag in its usual spot. "Guess we forgot to bring that in yesterday."

"It's on top of the dresser. You kind of just slammed it down there when you came in yesterday. Not that I blame you." Harry pressed his lips together and picked at the sheets.

"Want anything in particular? If not I'm just heading to the diner down the road to pick up pancakes and shit."

"Hold the shit." Sam looked up grinning and Dean flipped him the bird before pulling on a pair of pants and shirt.

"Whatever smart ass, wasn't asking you anyways. I was asking Harry over there." Dean shoved his feet into his boots as he watched Harry contemplate things over before he smiled.

"Orange juice. I haven't had orange juice in awhile."

"Alright. So, no shit for Sammy and orange juice for Harry. This is going to be the cheapest breakfast I have ever bought for the three of us." Dean joked as he walked out of the room.

"I'm going to shower, before I don't get any hot water. You should sleep, it kind of looks like you need it." Harry slipped his hand underneath the sheets covering Sam and rubbed his back, rubbing tense muscles loose for a few minutes and then he headed for the bathroom.

"Now I understand why he purrs." Sam murmured as he drifted off to sleep. "It's your hands." Harry snorted before closing the bathroom door.

"Wake up, Princess!" Dean yanked the sheets off of Sam before moving to the table. A nearly effortless way to wake Sam up and it worked every time. Dean watched as Sam sat up and glared at nothing before grumbling his way over to a fresh set of clothes.

"Well, I'll have to remember that." Harry smiled at the way Sam stumbled around the room, still sleepy. "That works a lot faster than a cup of coffee."

"Coffee is always a nice thought though." A quick knock interrupted Dean, and Bobby pushed through the usually locked door. "I guess I didn't lock that."

"Need to work on that, Dean." Bobby sat heavily at the table and looked between Harry and Dean and the sheets on the floor for a moment. "Okay then. Well, I called a buddy of mine. He'll be taking care of the vampire up in Shreveport, and we're going to work on this mysterious neighbor you've got, Harry."

"I've got a few ideas on how to go about figuring out what he is really up to."

"They involve magic?"

"Sure they do, Bobby." Harry flashed a quick grin towards Bobby and then his face turned more serious. "These spells and materials, I used them a lot during the war. We did a lot of spying and I had one of the best mentors out there for it."

"Before you make a game plan up with all your magic mojo stuff, I called a few people and got some information on those names you gave me." Bobby set a few rumpled pieces of paper on the table and scanned over them quickly before starting. "Romilda Vane, a hunter killed her three months ago. They suspected she wasn't all that human and everyone in the area was waiting for her to mess up."

"What about the others?" Harry scrunched up his nose for a moment then relaxed.

"McNair died of natural causes. The coroner who completed his autopsy stated there was heavy evidence of prolonged torture. Unofficially he was surprised he managed to live as long as he did."

"It was probably all the curses that caused that." Harry muttered to himself, his fingers began to tap out random rhythms on the scarred table. Dean wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist, putting a halt to Harry's incessant tapping. Once Harry was settled Dean released his wrist.

"Macmillan is also deceased. Natural causes, autopsy report said it was a heart attack. Agrippa has been in a high security prison in Texas for seven years, awaiting execution for first degree murder charges."

At Harry's nod, Bobby continued. "Now, here's where it gets interesting. This Lupin fellow, he shows up on the radar for a few years. He's your normal, every day kind of person. He did an online course for a phlebotomy certification, then practical in person. No photo on record like there should be."

Bobby rubbed at his forehead. "So the job was just enough to get settled in comfortably, nothing too exciting going on in his life. Then he just up and disappears, and who reappears shortly after? Ernest Tweed. He starts popping up all over the map and the credit card trails have him showing up in random motels. You can't quote me on this because this is going by what hunters remember from places just like this, but everyone thinks that he is searching for someone."

"What are you saying, Bobby? That you don't think he's our guy?" Sam asked as he glanced over towards Harry watching as emotion and thought passed quickly over his features.

"This ain't our guy." Bobby confirmed. "He's getting close to who ever he's looking for because he was all over the place but now he's sticking to one general area." Bobby shrugged. "We need to check him out to make sure, but I'm thinking that he can't be our guy. If he is, and that's a big if, he's probably working with someone and he's doing all the leg work." Bobby pulled out a paper that had been folded into several smaller squares. "Plus, I don't think he'd be doing this to Harry if he's the kind of person Harry is." Bobby pushed the paper over towards Harry and watched him unfold it and read it.

The only sign that something was amiss was the way Harry closed his eyes for a moment too long. "So I was supposed to be his guardian when I turned eighteen. I didn't know."

"I don't think it would have mattered, Harry. From the sound of it, you were already looked down upon by your government. That paper said he was staying with his grandmother."

"It might just be a coincidence that Teddy disappeared and then Tweed just showed up." Harry refolded the paper and left it sitting on the table.

"Do you really believe that, Harry?" Sam asked quietly from where he was sitting.

"I'd like to believe I didn't leave my only family behind." Harry snapped. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, Sam."

"So what do we do, Bobby? Do we just talk to the guy like the usual cases?" Dean asked, interrupting Harry's thoughts and Sam's reassurances.

"I would see if Harry could get into that room and find anything out about the guy. Find out for sure if Tweed and Lupin really are the same guy. If you don't get anything out of his room, then Sam and Dean can just happen to run into him and talk to him." Bobby suggested and he watched as each of the younger hunters took in his suggestion and tried to find ways they could each tweak it to benefit their skill sets.

"Cleaning and snooping. That sounds like something I can handle." Harry moved to get ready for the day.

"You can handle this right, Harry?" Bobby asked as Harry swapped his tee shirt for the Motel 59 polo. "If he does end up turning out to be your brother, or whatever he is to you?"

"I think I can manage, Bobby. I've got rooms to clean." Harry stopped short of the door and turned back, hesitating and then recovering with, "You two should clean up around here, its turning into a mess." Harry started for the office but the door opening behind him stopped him.

"Look, I know how it would make me feel if I found out that I left my only family behind. Even if I didn't know at the time, that they were my family." Dean rubbed at his arm, trying to gather his thoughts. "He'll understand though, if it really is Teddy."

"Dean, would you?" Harry asked, eyes focusing on the parking lot.

"Just stop thinking for a minute and stop obsessing over what could have been because that's not going to change." Dean moved closer into Harry's space. "What I'm trying to say is, Sammy and me, we can take care of this so you don't have to even go near it."

"I think I can handle it, Dean. It might not even turn out to be him, you know?" Harry glanced back towards the office. "I need to go check in, but thanks for coming out here, and offering."

"Only for you." Dean murmured before heading back to the room to tell Sammy to start cleaning the room up. After all, he and Harry had been taking care of his lazy ass for the past few days.

Harry spotted Thibodeaux sitting behind the counter and hesitated to walk into the office when Thibodeaux stood up and started towards Harry. The glass door opened with a soft snick and Harry was ushered inside. "So, Leigh called in. She said she needed a little bit of time off. She has a concussion. Apparently, you got into a fight and asked her to patch you up and she ended up passing out." Harry felt the way his wounds were being studied and catalogued. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like." Harry shrugged. "She's okay right?"

"Confused, but she's okay. I told her I didn't mind watching over the counter for her as long as you managed to hang around here every day for the rest of the week and do your job." Thibodeaux sat down and leveled Harry with a glare. "Figured that was the least you could do after getting her mixed up in whatever mess you brought here."

"Yeah. Well, who checked out? Does the new guy want his room cleaned or does he need anything?" Harry asked quietly.

"All the rooms need cleaning. New tenant requested more towels and his room be cleaned before noon, so I'd get to that one soon. Actually I'd get all the rooms done soon." Thibodeaux nodded his head towards the glass door in a silent dismissal.

"You know I didn't do any of this intentionally, Tibby." Harry paused with his hand on the door. "Tell her to take as long as she needs. It'll be safer for her that way." Harry walked out of the office feeling properly chastised and guilty for getting Leigh hurt and involved in this mess.

The corners weren't tucked as tightly as they usually were when Harry made the beds and the floor was vacuumed in a half-assed effort, but crappy service was a staple in motels like this so it didn't bother Harry. Especially with his mind running a million miles at once. All he really wanted to do was get finished with all the rooms and go back to sleep and avoid reality for a little longer. When he passed into long-term renter territory, reality started to press against his eyelids allowing no escape.

A quick knock confirmed that no one was home, and he was going to get the same shoddy service as every other room got, because Harry was not staying in the room any longer than absolutely necessary.

The room was a wreck. There were books strewn all over every available surface. If the table had been an older it probably would have folded underneath the weight of the books piled on top of it. Allowing for a quick perusal of the titles showed them to be ordinary fiction. Not a thing about magic or hinting towards a hidden magical world.

When Harry stripped the bed of its sheets to replace them with fresh ones, he noticed a messy mountain of papers was littering the nightstand. Attempting to ignore the papers was pointless, there was something itching at the back of his mind to read what was written on those pages, with a hasty grab Harry started to read what had been written. It wasn't easy deciphering the chicken scratch hand writing but the words that stuck out the clearest were the ones stating, 'I found Harry Potter.'

"Now if that doesn't pull a bloke in, I don't know what will." Harry resisted temptation to just sit and immerse himself in the pages. He rushed through remaking the bed and replaced the towels in the bathroom before snatching the papers and sitting down to read them.

'After three years I've finally found him. At least I think and hope it's him. I'm tired of traveling around this bloody country searching for the only person left in my family.'

"What are these papers, a bloody diary?" Harry asked himself out loud before flipping farther back in the mess of loose papers to start reading again.

'He was warding the motel. You could feel the strength of his magic crackling in the air. But then something odd happened. There were creatures. Well they were human but they weren't. They showed up while he was warding and started to attack him and men who were protecting him from the looks of it. If I could just figure out who he is, he might know where Harry is, or a way to find him."

"Well you found him, you idiot. Talking to strange wizards, you might have been exiled but Andromeda sure as hell taught you better than that. You don't go around talking to strangers, even Muggles know that." Harry commented before he heard the turn of a key in the lock and a quick dash to put everything back in its messy pile wasn't a problem. Getting to his cart, Harry was ready with a fake apology on the tip of his tongue and he moved to pass through the doorway and be on his merry way.

The best-laid plans never seem to work out. The man who pushed through the door was most definitely Teddy Lupin, and the sight of him caused Harry to freeze in his spot.

"Goodness, you scared me, mate." The amber eyes of his father's and Tonks' nose snorted in obvious nervousness.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Mr. Tweed. I was just running behind but I'm on my way out right now."

"Wow, where are you from? I haven't heard an accent like yours since I left home, even if it has faded a bit." He smiled and Harry swallowed the miniscule amount of spit in his mouth.

"Just from around."

"Oh, I hadn't meant to pry. Have you seen my neighbor about?"

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem at all. I had just wanted to meet him, or them. There are quite a few fellows in and out of that room." It was an offhand comment, but Harry felt his hackles rising as if he needed to defend what was his.

"He comes and goes at different times."

"Ah, well maybe one day soon I'll get to meet him, or them." Harry thought the smile was almost wistful on his face. "Oh pardon my manners. You know who I am, but I have no idea of who you are." He thrust his hand out towards Harry and Harry was at a loss as to what he should do. Should he lie and possibly get caught in the lie later on? Or go with honesty? What if Mr. Tweed was lying the entire time?

A quick look at his aura and Harry saw there weren't any dark smudges or any traces that he had actually used magic in the past few years. The words spilled from his mouth before he could stop himself. "Harry. It was nice meeting you..."

"I finally found you." Harry froze at the whispered response, shortly followed by a laugh of disbelief. "I can't believe I finally found you, and you don't recognize who I am. Of course you wouldn't remember me, just another person you lost right?" The amber eyes blinked to meet Harry's. "How could you not remember me?"

Harry rubbed a hand over his forehead and wished he could get Dean and Sam here with him, or at least one of them to make this easier. "The Harry Potter I knew wouldn't hide himself away like this. No matter what that scar made you, you never would have hidden away back home."

"That was never my home." Harry answered automatically.

"At least that much hasn't changed." Teddy snorted before looking up in surprise. "So you do know who I am."

"Of course I know who you are, but you don't know who I am any more Teddy."

"But I want to. That's why I'm here. Don't you get that?"

"You don't understand what I've become since you've last seen me."

"I know you did what had to be done."

"I left you right after your parents died and after we haven't seen each other until now. You have no idea what I have done."

"I don't care."

"You will. When you find out, you will." Harry shook his head before pulling the cart out of the room. "Just let me think alright?"

"Just don't disappear on me."

"I just need time to figure things out."

"You need time?" Teddy snorted. "Fine, but you are my brother, no matter what you've done or what you think you've done, you are my brother. Even if we aren't blood you are my brother."

Harry nodded and with one last glance at the stack of messy papers on the night stand. Harry knew he'd be back to get a copy of those papers, if only to find out what exactly Teddy knew and perhaps to get an insight to who Teddy was now.

Harry was pacing outside of the room, attempting to figure out how to start talking or dealing with Teddy, when Sam opened the door with a smirk on his face. "You're going to wear a track into the concrete if you keep up with that. Are you going to come inside at some point tonight?"

"Shut up." Harry muttered as he side-stepped Sam's bulky frame and into the room. Dean was flipping channels on the television and munching on a bag of potato chips.

"That's exactly what I told him." Dean muttered and he stopped on a made for television horror movie. "Oh come on! That's not fair at all. The black guy always dies first." Dean balled up the bag and wiped the salty residue off on his pants. "So what was up with the pacing out there?"

"Found something in Tweed's room, but I didn't have enough time to get it out of the room before he showed up."

"What did you find?" Sam's entire body perked with anticipation.

"Well I guess you could call it his diary. It was just a bunch of loose papers on the nightstand though."

"A stack of loose papers just, caught your eyes?" Dean asked the question as if Harry had told Dean that he liked to watch paint dry whenever he got the opportunity to do so.

"Actually, it was what was written that caught my eye and then I just happened to start reading a few random pages in the pile."

"What did you find out?"

"Well, he knows who I am and that I warded the motel. Also, he's been searching for me for the past three years."

"Well, Sammy. We know what we're doing as soon as Mr. Tweed goes out again."

"We're just going to take the papers? He is bound to realize that they are gone, Dean."

"Read really fast?" Harry snorted at Dean's suggestion. "Maybe he won't miss them all that much."

"How about you just get the papers back here and I'll copy them right quick and then you can return them back to their rightful place."

"You can do that?" Sam quirked a brow at Harry's suggestion.

"I have the world of magic at my fingertips, Sam." The corner of Harry's lips lifted before dropping again. "I talked to him."

"You did what?" Dean sat up. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk to him, that you didn't want to."

"He knew who I was and it's blatantly obvious that he is Teddy Lupin." Harry pointed out.

"Were you even going to tell us that you talked to him?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, no, I don't know. It's just with everything going on I want to trust that he is Teddy Lupin, the kid I grew up with, but can I trust that? I can't afford to, as much as I want to, I just can't."

"What do you mean?" Sam spoke up, brows furrowed in concentration.

"He hasn't used magic in years. Do you know how hard that is to do for someone who learned magic later in life? I used it every once in a while before hunting, but for someone who was raised with it? That doesn't even seem like a possibility."

"How could you tell?" Harry watched as Sam's fingers started to dance in thought.

"I could feel it." Harry knew the answer was vague and let Sam take the answer for what it was. "Someone with his ability should be flaring with the use of magic and it's nonexistent. I don't know what to think about Teddy."

"So we follow the plan, steal the papers and figure out who he really is." Dean shrugged as if it were that simple the entire time. "We just need to wait for him to leave to get into his room." Dean moved towards the table, angling the chair so he could watch outside the window. They ended up camped out around the room watching cartoons while they waited for Teddy to vacate his room.

"Shaggy is my favorite, even if Daphne has some killer legs." Dean was leaning against the foot of one of the beds immersed in the episode.

"Really Dean? Daphne who, might I remind you, is a cartoon character, has killer legs?" Sam looked at Harry as if Dean had lost his mind during the past few hours.

"I meant if she were real, Sammy."

"I'd like to think…" Harry trailed off glancing out the window, watching as Teddy shuffled out of his room and towards his car.

"I bet you're jealous that you might have some competition, Harry." Dean smirked, but Harry was too busy watching as Teddy got into his Infinite and left the motel.

"He's gone. You guys should go now if you're going to break into his room." Harry stood up, urging Dean and Sam to do the same. Dean grabbed the zipper pouch containing the tools to pick the lock and tossed it to Sam. Sam had always managed to finesse the locks faster and in the evening light they couldn't afford any wasted time with Dean's impatience.

"They're on the nightstand?" Dean asked over his shoulder and Harry nodded and Dean smirked. "Don't wait up." Harry resisted the need to throw something at Dean and moved to watch from the creases in the blinds.

It only took a moment before Sam stood from where he had been crouched in front of the door and the brothers entered the room. The door shut with a slam but Harry's eyes remained glued to the parking lots and the road beyond it as he searched out black cars. None had surfaced by the time Sam had jogged back into the room with a messy bundle of papers in hand before handing them over to Harry. "Dean's looking to see if there is something else in the room. I figured you'd want a head start with copying all of those. I'll keep watch while you do your thing."

Harry immediately began copying each page as quickly as he could manage with out mangling his spell work. Sam could feel the warmth of Harry's magic as soon as he began to copy each paper. Every new page Harry created with the spell was like a caress against Sam's skin and he was entranced by it.

The moment Harry looked up and caught Sam staring, Sam moved back to watching the parking lot. Pretending he hadn't been caught staring at Harry but with every soft murmur of Latin a flare of magic brushed against Sam's skin. Sam was desperate for any explanation as to why he was reacting this way, but he was having trouble even concentrating on watching out the damn window. "How are you coming with that, Harry?" Maybe if Sam talked to Harry he wouldn't feel the way the power kept surging around the room. The way his breath caught in his throat or the way everything was starting to tighten.

"Why?" There was an edge of panic in Harry's voice, but he continued at the pace he had started copying each page at.

"Just getting antsy, that's all." Sam wasn't getting antsy; it was getting difficult to breathe. It was getting too difficult to even think with Harry's magic floating around the room and spiraling around him.

"I'm finished." Harry muttered. "Bring them back and if Dean's found anything we can try again another day if you're getting a bad feeling about something." Sam grabbed the papers out of Harry's hands, finally realizing the amount of paper that Harry had just copied. "You need to get those back to Teddy's room now, Sam." Sam stuttered at the way the emerald orbs flickered up at him urging him to go. With a nod, Sam left the room to return the papers.

As soon as he opened the door, all the energy that had been licking against his skin curled around, as if saying good-bye to him as he left. With a slight rush, Sam felt the magic unfurl from around him and release into the air around him.

"That was fast." Dean commented from where he was checking underneath the bed. "Harry copied all of that?"

"Yes." Sam set the papers back down on the nightstand and helped Dean heft the mattress up to see if there was anything hidden beneath it.

"Not a damn thing, Sammy." Dean glanced around the room before heading out. "You coming or do you plan to get us arrested tonight?" Sam shook his head before heading out, he paused before the doorway. "What's your deal?"

"Just, have you ever been in a room with Harry doing magic?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean held up a hand. "What do you mean?"

"I know you were near him while he was warding, but what about in a closed off room?" Sam hid his eyes from Dean, pretending the patterns in the dirt were much more interesting than speaking face-to-face with his brother.

"No. What happened?"

"It was suffocating. The amount of power that Harry has at the palm of his hands, Dean, it's just amazing. That was just with him copying papers, and then being in the room with him using magic. It's like it," Sam swallowed before looking up at Dean, "it's almost like its Harry standing a breath away."

"Are you saying," Dean held up a hand trying to wrap his head around the thought, "Are you saying being in a closed space, with Harry using magic, turned you on?"

"Just answer the question, Dean." Sam's voice grew quiet as if he was ashamed of himself and it wasn't something Dean had often recognized by the tone of his brother's voice. Dean stood, mulling the question over, trying to remember if he had actually been in an enclosed space with Harry using magic.

"Other than the time we felt his magic healing his skin? No, Sammy, I haven't." Dean pressed his lips together and glanced between Sam and the room. "So Harry copying papers turned you on?"

"Oh God, you are never going to let me live this down are you?"

"I don't even think Harry would let you live this down if he found out about it." Dean grinned. "So, you going to be okay going in there or do you need some time to yourself before heading in?"

"I'm fine, Dean." Sam ground out from between his teeth.

"Sure you are, Sammy. Sure you are." Dean smirked before heading into the room and paused just over the threshold causing Sam to crash into him.

"Dean?" Sam took a step back and took in his brother, the way he slowly licked his lips and gripped the doorframe. "That's not even a quarter of what it felt like."

"Do you feel it though?"  
"Feel what?" Sam asked as if the answer was obvious but he didn't want to say it out loud.

"That it's Harry."

"How can you tell it's him and not something we should be worried about?"

"Remember when Bobby's car zapped Harry and his skin started healing and you felt that?" At Sam's nod Dean continued as he gestured inside the room. "Everything that I just felt, that was a taste of what I felt that day."

"And you're okay with all of this?"

Dean looked at where Harry was perched on the bed reading over the pages of Teddy's journal and back towards Sam, "I think I am beginning to be." Dean gave a small smile before walking the rest of the way into the room.


	13. Chapter 13

"Are you going to read that right now or do you mind getting something to eat first?" Sam asked as he and Dean finally made it into the room with Harry sparing them a quick glance before going back to the pages. The sound of keys being tossed through the air pulled Harry's attention and he looked up to see both Winchester's with their hands in their pockets waiting.

"Sure." Harry shoved his feet into his boots and made a grab for the papers but Dean snatched them up right before he could get them.

"I'll keep them safe. Don't worry." At Harry's glare and attempts to get the pages back, Dean sighed and lifted them above his head and out of the reach of Harry's hands. "Have you read anything potentially dangerous?"

"Out of what I've read so far, it's all general thoughts." Harry answered as he rose on tiptoes to grab the papers.

"So nothing dangerous?" Dean prompted again as Harry's breath fanned across his face. "Immediate danger, yes or no?" Dean moistened his lips and smirked as he caught Harry's eyes following the movement.

"We going to eat or are you two going to flirt with each other all night?" Sam interrupted before heading outside.

"Nothing dangerous as of yet." Harry mumbled.

"Good." Dean sealed their mouths together and he felt Harry's fingers curl around his belt loops and smirk against his mouth as Harry pulled him closer.

"Food." Harry reminded Dean and his exploring hands before following after Sam to the Impala.

Once at the restaurant things were awkward. Sam usually sat by Harry but Sam opted to sit next to Dean instead and remained quiet until they began talking about what Harry had read so far.

"Nothing so far. Just that the Ministry, governemnt, stripped him of his magic. It explains why he felt off to me."

"You want to explain that one to us?" Dean asked waving a fry in the air.

Harry took a few moments thinking before he focused in on Sam's full glass of water and his empty cup. "You mind if I use this for a second, Sam?"

" What for?" Sam's tone was skeptical and it caused Harry to pause for a moment before answering.

"Just a demonstration."

"I guess not."

"Okay, so because of his ability he should have felt like this," Harry held Sam's cup. "Even if he didn't use his magic it would still be there, bursting to get out, but still there." Harry set Sam's cup back on the opposite side of the table and picked up his empty one. "Instead it felt like this. Empty." Harry shrugged. "Not a lot of wizards live through losing their magic."

"Weren't you exiled like he was?" Sam asked, causing both Dean and Harry to shoot him twin looks of disbelief.

"Yes, but I left before they could send me out of the country. I still have my wand and a few other things they probably didn't allow him to keep. What's going on with you, Sam?"

"Nothing is going on."

"It's not nothing." Dean rolled his eyes at the words that flew from Harry's mouth, just inviting the chick flick to come waltzing in with prince charming on her arm. "If it was nothing you wouldn't be acting like this."

"Like what, Harry?"

"Like I did something to you."

"You did." Sam answered and Dean smacked his head down on the table with an audible grunt.

"Want to tell me what it was so I don't do it again, or I can apologize?"

"Not particularly."

"Okay. Well, are we done eating? I have some reading I'd like to get back to." Harry said pointedly to Dean and watched as Dean gestured for Sam to pay for dinner.

Dean pulled a silent Impala into the motel parking lot and passed Harry the papers he had hidden away. As they got out he had intended to pull Sam to the side to figure out what his problem was, but the greeting from a next door neighbor they hadn't seen up close stopped him.

"Hey, Harry."

"Teddy."

He couldn't have been any older than Sam, Harry never told them exactly how old Teddy was, and he wasn't about to ask. But looking at him up close, those eyes stopped he and Sam cold.

"Good day?" His accent was heavier than Harry's, but it was probably due to the fact that he didn't want to blend like Harry did.

"It was alright. You?" Dean watched as the plaid shirt stretched across the bulk of muscle with a shrug and fought the urge to throw holy water on him as those yellowish eyes focused on Dean and Sam.

"It was okay, nothing exciting."

"Mhm, well I have a couple of things I have to get to."

"I can see that." The amber eyes flickered between Dean and Sam and then back to Harry. "Have a good night."

Dean watched as Harry clutched the papers in his hands tightly. Something about seeing Teddy like this was bothering him, just like it was bothering both Sam and himself.

"You too, Teddy." Harry nodded as they passed each other and waited as the headlights flickered on and the taillights disappeared into darkness.

"What's with his eyes?" Sam asked as he shut the door.

"What do you mean? They look fine to me." Harry answered.

"It's not natural." Harry winced at the words and looked at Sam before sitting down and smoothing the papers he crumpled out. "You have nothing to say about this?"

"What do you want me to say, Sam? Are you trying to pick a fight? Because it really sounds like you are."

"Yellow eyes like that are not natural."

"If you think his eyes are unnatural what do you think about me, Sam?" Harry looked at Sam waiting for an answer. When none came he grabbed the papers and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked, finally breaking into the argument.

"The Chevelle is out there and I know a place that stays open all night. I'll read there."

"Well you aren't going alone." Dean moved to go with him and Harry stopped him with a glare.

"Stay with, Sam. I'll go to the damn office." Harry set the keys of the Chevelle down and headed for the office, the muffled voices of Dean and Sam shadowing him along the way.

"What the hell was that, Sam?" Dean asked, arm flung out towards the door.

"Don't say it. You were thinking the same exact thing, Dean."

"About the freaky eyes, yeah. You want to explain the rest of the time though? Especially that attitude while we were eating? Cause you might be freaking out about the whole magic thing but don't take it out on Harry. Figure it out, yell at me if you have to, but he does not need this right now."

"How would you know what Harry, needs?" Sam yelled across the space that separated them.

"Because we're trying to figure out if the last bit of his family is good or evil. From where we, meaning you and me, are standing he is. And that's just by the color of his eyes and the way he looks at Harry and us like he has a secret and he's going to make us hurt. So, yes, I think I know what Harry needs right now and he sure as hell does not need you and your bullshit."

"It just didn't feel right." Sam slumped into one of the rickety chairs.

"What? You finding out you had a new kink?" Dean snorted. "Please that's pretty vanilla compared to some of the stuff you could get into." At Sam's raised brow, "You don't want to know, Sammy. So are you going to be alright with all this, or you going to work on figuring it out without screwing everything up?"

"I'll figure it out, but it's just weird accepting something that we've been hunting for so long in a moment. I'm not sure I understand how you're doing it."

"Bobby trusts him, and believe it or not I trust him." Dean shrugged. "You just got to figure out where you stand, and if you can't get over his magic thing then you need to tell him. I'll be in the shower."

Harry sat in the silence for a moment trying to figure everything out. Trying to understand what set Sam off. What made him feel so uncomfortable with Harry? As soon as Teddy stepped into the picture Sam slowly started to step back as if he knew something was bound to go wrong but he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news.

Then Sam started acting weird after Harry used magic in front of him. It wasn't the first time Sam had seen Harry using magic before so it shouldn't have been so surprising and when Sam had seen Harry use magic he had seemed fascinated by it. So what was going on?

Giving up on trying to figure Sam out, Harry set his mind on the task at hand. Figuring out who Teddy Lupin really was. The first entries Harry read were the ones closest in time to him. It was something he couldn't help but read first, seeing himself from another person's eyes. Pulling the pages from the time furthest away Harry began to read.

September 2003

A threat to the ministry? What do they expect us to do once they hand us the timed port-key and we show up in the middle of bloody America? Pack your bags, you have twenty-four hours to say goodbye. Is that really enough? No wonder Harry said good riddance and left before they got their hands on his magic. I wonder where he has been the entire time he's been over here. It's been a few years since I've seen him, kind of miss him. Who am I kidding? I do miss him.

Harry pursed his lips in consideration of this entry and one of the later entries he had read. They both seemed like Teddy, but the latter seemed more forced than this one. Time did change a person, events changed people but something just didn't match up.

Harry scanned and skipped through singled sentenced entries about Teddy trying to find a place to call home when a longer entry grabbed his attention.

October 2003

Guess it's easier than I thought it would be. Knick an ID, some Muggle currency and it was easy enough to copy. Once. That's all they left me with. They strip you of everything. I don't think I can find it in me to care anymore. There really isn't a reason to care about magic. 

The people in the building I stay in don't care about the color of my eyes. They don't stare as much as smaller towns do. They helped me find a job at some tea place and I started a correspondence course for lab work. No point in magic when it's turned it's back on me. 

Oddest thing, I swear I saw him. Harry. He was in an old car, leaving a bar. He was a bit beaten up but those eyes and that scar? He's got to still be alive. Mandy, the girl next door said Google is amazing and she'd help me try and find him.

Teddy had been around, actively looking for Harry for years. Guilt lanced through Harry's chest at what he had done after the war. He had hidden from everything, trying to find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. He had left Teddy behind long before escaping London and the Ministry.

November 2003

This magic is different. You aren't born with it. You have to earn it. Still no signs of Harry.

Harry was hoping the magic that Teddy had found wasn't the kind of magic he would get killed for using. Even from the vague mentions of it, Harry knew exactly what Teddy had found. Whether he found it by himself or with the help of someone, it didn't matter but the contradictions of Teddy not knowing what a demon was from the entries closer to the present time, showed something wasn't right.

December 2003 

I found a trail. Well someone else did and sent me an e-mail of the picture Harry showed up in on an online journal. No name given, but it's him. He saved a girl from a ghost. Thought he was done saving the hopeless? He left me alone, so he had to have been finished saving people. Right?

Those find your family member websites are pointless. As soon as I get enough money I'm hiring a private detective. I'll get better results that way.

Harry watched as cars passed by on the highway, headlights on. He saved a lot of people from ghosts, and demons. From things that weren't supposed to exist but somehow they do. Gritting his teeth, Harry sighed, wondering how he had messed up. He had never, never let anyone get a picture of him and somehow he had shown up on the Internet.

Teddy got his first scent from a picture on the internet, meaning there was someone else out there searching for him.

January 2004

Mandy was murdered. The part of me that remembers the fear of Mum and Dad not coming home from a mission reminds me of her death. It was like she was hunted down and killed in cold blood. 

The detective is trying to find Harry but he's got to be using a lot of fake information or cash. We're getting nowhere fast. The guy kind of reminds me of one of Harry's friends who used to hole up in Number Twelve with the rest of the DA. I can't quite put my finger on it, but if I had my old photos that the Ministry confiscated before exiling me, I might be able to point him out. 

If Harry wouldn't had done what he did, burrowed away, then I wouldn't be in the situation I am in now. Mandy, who taught me everything, wouldn't be dead. He should have helped the Ministry. He should have done more.

Harry sat staring at the paper for a moment. It was probably grief speaking, but how was any of that his fault? He did his job, fulfilled the prophecy to the best of his ability and made sure the sick son of a bitch wouldn't ever come back and now it was his fault the Ministry was screwing everything up?

Teddy didn't have to kill in the war. He stayed in Number Twelve and made sure after every raid and mission that they had enough supplies for the wounded. Remus made sure that he never had to witness any blood or gore. The worst he saw and heard were the nightmares while the war was going on.

Teddy had no idea what killing a person did to Harry. What having the wizarding world label him dark, day in and out because he wanted to make sure one of the darkest wizards wasn't ever able to come back. Having the very people he housed turn their backs on him. That could really throw a bloke for a loop.

May 2004

Found out my detective isn't really a detective. He's a wizard, and funny enough he's been trying to find Harry for a little while, too. We've caught his scent in Colorado. I'm hitting the pavement and trying to track him down while my other half works from his end.

A wizard? Great. For all Harry knew it could be a Death Eater they hadn't captured and out for revenge and Teddy's in the thick of it. Harry flipped through countless pages of Teddy talking about where he just lost track of Harry, where he should have been but hadn't. There had been a trail that had gone cold before an entry over a year later chilled Harry to his bones and had his grabbing for his cell phone calling Bobby.

August 2005

He doesn't like my brand of magic, says it's evil, but I can tell it's calling to him. That he's opening himself up to using it. I took a life, by using a few simple words and was out of town before anyone knew what had happened. He's finally seeing the amazing side of my brand of magic. He's seeing why being a wizard never mattered in the first place.

"Yeah?" Bobby's voice came over the line.

"Where are you?"

"What's up, kid? I'm getting food and then I planned on getting some sleep."

"You need to get to my room. There's something I need to show you."

"Mind me getting food first?"

"Sure, go ahead. You're in the Chevelle, right?" Harry asked as he glanced out the glass door, noting its absence.

"Yeah, not like Dean would give up the Impala."

"I'll meet you there when you get back."

"Where are you?"

"The office." Harry answered before hanging up and let his eyes got back towards the papers. Terrified of what he might read next if Teddy had already immersed himself so far into the magic, Sam and Dean wouldn't hesitate killing him. Hell, Harry wouldn't hesitate killing Teddy if he had been anyone else than who he was. He had killed, and tempted another soul with it.

December 2005

Despite the wild goose chase and the only thing I've been able to pick up in the damn country is their horrid mannerisms and different ways to con people out of their money. He's seen the magic too often and felt it too much. He's begun learning. He's a lot smarter than he was back at Hogwarts and it might be because he's already a wizard but it's making everything a lot easier on me.

It's liberating knowing without my magical core I can still wield the power to cast spells and take life with a few words. They thought we'd be destroyed in exiled but with the right books, rituals, people, and demons I actually have more power than I ever had back in London. I am more alive than I ever was.

Harry stopped reflecting and read through the rest of the way. He needed to know everything before Bobby got back and he had to tell the Winchester's.

February 2006

We have a plan. Harry never should have abandoned his people like he did. He should have never abandoned me. 

March 2006

We've found where Harry lives and works out of most of the time. He works at a motel, cleaning up after people. Doesn't seem too far from the rumored childhood, you'd think he'd do his best to get away from that. He's one of those people who killed Mandy. They call themselves Hunters. Kind of makes me wonder if he killed Romilda, I was in town the weekend they killed her. She didn't have any way of getting her Wolfsbane potion over here. Did he factor that in while he was killing her? Probably not.

Everyone was right about him. Harry Potter has gone dark wizard. He needs to be stopped, taught a lesson. I guess I won't feel as guilty.

Even for a bumbling idiot you'd think with the way he had been carrying on with the fact he was friends, brothers in arms, with Harry he'd know where he was before now, but it gave us more time to get everything cemented in place.

October 2006

Got to start making a fake journal and leave it out for Harry to see. I don't understand why he can't do it and just owl it over to me. I'm doing all the heavy lifting over here. It's not easy work getting past his wards, I only did it once and that was on accident and I can't figure out how to repeat my mistake.

He's just going to show up soon. Apparently I create messes that he has to clean up, before he gets here I have to get Harry to trust me. When the attack comes, he won't see it because it'll be right from the inside.

The glare of headlights as a car pulled into the parking lot sent Harry shuffling to make sure it was the Chevelle. Seeing it was he double-checked to make sure he had all of the papers with him as he took off in a job back towards his room in a room. The door was shutting as he slid through behind Bobby, surprising each hunter in the room.

"Sorry. Just, you all need to read these." Harry flipped through discarding the entries of least importance. Bobby watched the papers fall to the ground and Harry's frenzied movement with a hint of amusement before Harry's head snapped up and focused in on Sam.

"You can get over this." Harry let the anger leak into his eyes and with quick precision he ended up with another set of what he had deemed the most important entries they needed to read. He reached out to hand one set to Bobby and the other to Dean and Sam but stopped when Bobby spoke up.

"What's up with you two?" Bobby's eyes focused on Dean and Sam as they took a deep breath and turned away from Harry.

"Nothing." Dean answered as peeled off his jacket.

"Not a thing, Bobby." Sam cringed that their reactions were that obvious to Bobby.

"Right, I'll believe that when I see Jesus riding on a bicycle."

"Just read that and tell me what you're thinking." Harry motioned back towards the papers.

While they were reading Harry paced, trying to think of what he could have misread. Anything he could have missed at all that would have been helpful for Teddy. Perhaps he was being too paranoid, over thinking things. Then the wizard who was working with Teddy, who was it? The possibilities were endless, because last time Harry checked, he had almost the entire wizard world angry with him.

The rustling of papers shifted his attention as Sam passed a page over to Dean and each hunter was immersed in what they were reading. Bobby had a grimace on his face and Harry knew he wasn't being paranoid. That Teddy he had once known had changed for the worst.

"You want to explain exactly, and when I say exactly, I don't mean any vague recollections. I mean exactly, who Teddy is to you, Harry." Bobby asked pinching the bridge of his nose. Both Dean and Sam looked at him, ready to take off and kill.

"Teddy Lupin was born four years after I was." Harry brushed his fringe back. "His father and my dad were best friends. I was supposed to be placed in Remus Lupin's care after my parents were killed but because of the prophecy I went to my Aunt and Uncle's. It was a fear of whoever I was placed with, was going to get killed. If I went to someone non-magical and family, no one would find me and I'd have protection of blood wards. I never knew what a witch or a wizard was until I was eleven. That's when I met Teddy, because his dad taught at the boarding school I went to so he lived there, too." Harry rolled his shoulders and looked at the ceiling. "This is going to be hard to explain."

"If we have questions we can ask them." Bobby said as Harry paused.

"Every year there was an attack from the dark lord, Lord Voldemort. I was the person who was prophesized to defeat him so I had to do a lot of specialized training because of the war. After the third attack, instead of going back to my Aunt and Uncles, I went with Remus to train. He ended up teaching me a lot of the building blocks of defense. The Lupin's were like my family during those summers. That's when Teddy stopped being just Teddy and started being like my little brother."

"When I was seventeen, everything got really bad. I destroyed the horcruxes and all that was left to do was kill Voldemort but that wasn't as easy as it sounded. The schools were all closed down because they were targeted. So a lot of the key players and their families were at Number Twelve, which served as a headquarters for the light. We planned everything there. Our next attacks, what we would do if we were attacked," Harry swallowed, lost in vague recollections of that time. "What to do if I died."

Dean stood up and started to move across the room towards Harry but a sharp look from Bobby sent him back to his seat.

"The night before the final battle Remus asked me if I would look after Teddy as if he were my own blood. We were already family, so what could I say? Remus and Tonks died in the final battle." Harry shrugged. "Remus shook my hand and thanked me after I told him I'd look after Teddy but I don't know what else you want me to tell you."

"So, I was right in thinking you were in a some kind of war." Bobby muttered to himself. "I know you told us that, not is so many words and still pretty vaguely, but torture curses, schools being targets. Dark and Light side? What were you fighting for?" Bobby asked.

"I don't even know anymore. I think it was race superiority. It reminds me of World War II over here." Harry rubbed at his eyes.

"So he's what, twenty one now?" Bobby recalled.

"Twenty-one, exiled, and working with someone in the wizard world to get back at me for abandoning him and my people." Harry confirmed with a stiff nod.

"He said you hid away for awhile, why'd you do that?" Sam asked softly.

"Do you know what it's like to have over two hundred deaths on your conscience because you couldn't figure out how to kill one man sooner? Or how to deal with the entire population thinking you killed him and burned his remains so you could be the next dark lord? There were people I loved who died in that war, too. I had a lot to deal with, with a lot of expectations piling on top of me, Sam. I was only seventeen. I didn't know how the hell to deal with myself much less with the rest of the world."

"When'd you get exiled?" Bobby asked as he added to the paper Harry hadn't realized he had been taking notes on.

"Two thousand and one, I found out what was being planned because of a reporter, whose favorite past time was writing about me, leaked the information. I packed what I could and I left before the Ministry got to me."

"So you got lucky, keeping your magic?" Sam asked.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Sam." Harry groaned. "What is your problem?"

"Your magic is." Dean answered. "Bobby, you might want to close your ears, but Sam is too much of a pansy to say anything but after that itty bitty spell I'm not. I'm just trying to figure out what'll happen if he uses something with a little more power behind it."

"My magic?"

"Yeah, your magic." Dean gave a shot a look of frustration towards Sam that said, 'if you don't say it, I'm about to.'

Bobby coughed, "As lovely as this turn of events is, and as stupid as Harry can be, we need to figure this out. Now."

"I'm sorry, Harry. But he's killed people, and he's admitted to using demons. We've got to…" Dean trailed off.

"We've got to take care of this. But," Harry held up a hand when Sam and Bobby made to start arguing, "if we do it now, then we'll never know what he planned, how to stop it, and who the other wizard is that he's been working with."

"Oh." Sam sat back down.

"Thought I was going to bitch and moan? Say we can't kill him? I've gotten the shit cards of the deck long enough to know better." Harry snapped and at Sam's nod he sighed. "I wish that it was possible, Sam. You find me another option and I will go for it, but until then there really isn't any other option, is there? You can try to put him in jail for the people he killed, but would that work if he were working with demons? He'd be right back out there killing people within days."

"Well what we need to work out right now is who this other guy is. If you geniuses didn't pay attention to the dates on those entries, the last one said October. Well, I've got news for you three." Bobby set his pen down against his paper with an air of finality. "It just hit November."


	14. Chapter 14

"So we're about to have another wizard show up and cause a whole lot of mayhem if they aren't already here." Sam looked over to Harry and back at the floor. "Do you have any ideas about who it could be?"

"Not a one." Harry rubbed at his eyes before correcting himself. "It could be anyone from my past."

"Do you know of anyone who would want to do something like this?" Dean asked before immediately regretting the question, Harry was exiled so of course there were several people who could hold some sort of grudge.

"Obviously Teddy and then there is the whole Wizard Word who believed that I was actually a dark wizard, perhaps any Death Eaters who slipped through the cracks. It could even be someone I pissed off here. There are a lot of people that it could be."

"Well you boys work on narrowing that list down. I don't want to be burning any corpses." Bobby said lowly as he stood, joints popping loudly causing each of them to grimace in sympathy. "Get some rest, we'll figure this thing out in the morning."

As soon as the door was closed behind Bobby Sam headed straight for the bathroom, quickly vetoing any conversation Harry might have intended on starting about Sam's reaction to Harry using magic.

Harry watched quietly as the bathroom door shut with a click and the water began to run, before he situated himself at the table Bobby had just left.

"I guess I'll just, um, salt the doors." Dean grabbed the container of salt from his duffel bag and began to lay the lines. "So, you okay?" Dean asked as he recapped the container and placed it on the chest of drawers.

"I'm just trying to figure this out." Harry shrugged. "It really could be anyone. It could even be someone I thought I could trust, you know?" Dean sat in the chair opposite of Harry, eyes searching his face and waited for Harry to finish speaking his mind. "Granted I rarely trust anyone and I don't really know that many people."

"Okay. We'll start there." Dean suggested. "Eliminate the people you know it can't be, group by group, and then go over what's left." Harry nodded and jumped when Sam came out of the bathroom. "I'm going to shower. Try not to kill each other." Dean grumbled and bumped shoulders with Sam in a warning on his way into the bathroom.

Harry looked at Sam for a moment before he looked back at the tabletop. He started to internally cross off the people he knew it couldn't be: Bobby, Dean, and Sam. As much as Harry wished he could add Thibodeaux and Leigh to that list he just couldn't. Thibodeaux knew as much about magic as Harry did, if not more. Then Leigh, even though Harry got her mixed into this mess, she did get possessed. Knowing first hand of the darkness that can stick around, Harry really couldn't trust her as much as he wanted to. Now all Harry had to do was go through everyone he had ever met. Easy.

Sam watched as Harry's hands laid flat against the tabletop and then his fingers started drumming out unrecognizable rhythms. A sigh and an upward tilt of Harry's head had Sam on edge. Harry was either trying to figure something out or he was holding himself back. When Harry's foot began tapping against the leg of the chair Sam couldn't quiet the need to say something, to buy himself some time to try and figure everything out.

"I don't want to talk about it. At least not right now." Harry eyed Sam slowly before nodding and he went back to tapping his fingers and feet against the chair legs. "What are you thinking about?"

"Trying to figure out who is working with Teddy," Harry groaned, "And what their plan is because we don't know much. Actually, we know jack shit." The room lulled into silence and the sound of the shower running as they both mulled over what Harry had voiced out loud. They listened as Dean switched off the water and Sam bit into his bottom lip before speaking.

"Well, who do you know it's not? Work from there."

Harry couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at the similarities between the brothers. "I'll figure it out." Harry scratched at his stomach before leaning the chair back on to two rickety chair legs, fingers tapping against his stomach.

Dean towel dried his hair taking in the scene of Harry perched on the chair, fingers drumming out silent beats against his stomach and Sam lying on one side of the bed burrowed underneath the covers.

"What's up with him?" Dean asked when Harry showed no signs of hearing Dean coming out of the bathroom or even moving around.

"He is thinking." Sam shrugged against the mattress. "He's kind of lost in there at the moment." Sam commented causing Dean to grin.

"He just wants to figure everything out, Sam."

"I think we all do, Dean." The muffled sound of a chair righting itself caused Dean and Sam to both look over to where Harry was standing.

"I'm going to clean up." Harry mumbled more to himself than to the Winchesters as he headed for a lukewarm shower. Not giving any indication to having heard anything the brothers had said.

Dean nodded before tossing the towel towards the closed bathroom door and sat on the edge of the bed, leaving enough room for Harry to slip in between he and Sam.

"You and Harry talk?"

"Not yet."

"Sam."

"I told him I needed to think before talking about anything. That okay with you, Dean?"

"What if I don't need time to think?" Dean grimaced at how that sounded. "Aren't you always for the sharing and caring shit? What's changed now?"

"I just don't want to screw this up." Sam sat up and rubbed at his chin before speaking. "It's different, Dean."

"What's so different about this?"

"All of it is different." Sam let his arms fall wide. "The lengths we've gone to protect him and to help him. Knowing that I would do it all again in a heartbeat. For Harry, I'd do it all again in a heart beat."

"And that scares you?" Dean questioned.

"No, it's the fact that I'm doing this for something we would have killed before meeting him and everything we know is changing because of him. That is what scares me, Dean."

They both looked up as Harry walked out the bathroom and grabbed a sweatshirt and headed over to the table to begin scribbling on the edges of the paper Bobby had left from earlier.

"Dude, aren't you tired?" Dean asked as Harry slowly submerged himself in what he was working on. "At least a little bit?"

"I'm going to finish this up while it's still fresh. I'll get some sleep in a few minutes." Harry answered, pen between his lips.

"Right. You both need a friggin' keepers." Dean clicked the light off and curled underneath the covers.

The rustling of papers woke Dean up and the only light Harry was using to see with was from the parking lot that barely illuminated the window seal. Glancing at the clock, Dean wiped a hand over his face. Three-thirty in the morning and Dean had a sneaking suspicion that Harry hadn't moved from that chair since Dean managed to fall asleep.

"Harry," Dean's voice hoarse from sleep startled Harry, "Get in here."

"I just need a few more minutes."

"No, you don't," Dean scooted out from beneath the covers and moved behind the chair Harry was seated in, "none of that is going to make any sense in a few hours. I can barely read what you're writing now. I doubt you can."

"I can read it okay." Harry squinted in effort.

"I don't care. You have work in the morning, well in a few hours, and no telling what mess you're going to find yourself in." When Harry didn't move Dean sighed and tugged on Harry's arm. "Sleep is good for the soul. It's got healing qualities."

"Bet that's what you tell all the pretty girls." Harry said through a yawn but gave in and started towards the bed.

"No, only you." Dean answered and Harry bit back a laugh.

"You just want to get me in bed."

"You complaining?" Dean waited as Harry slipped beneath the covers before following suit.

Dean was right. Harry could barely read what he had written last night. It was legible until Harry probably started yawning into his hand and rubbing his eyes to wake himself up and then his handwriting went down hill from there. All Harry had managed to do was eliminate all the people who were dead for sure and moved on to possible plans that Teddy had for using the demons and why he had given them magic. All the papers Harry had scribbled on gave him were doodles, and mindless words that maybe made sense in a crossword puzzle, if even there.

Harry still had a little bit of time before needing to head over to the office and the only other person he could think to talk to who might know of wizards with a vicious grudge was Neville. He had been talking to Neville the entire time, getting odd bits of information along the way so this wouldn't seem too strange. Having made up his mind, Harry grabbed his cell phone on the way out of the room before sparing a glance to where Sam and Dean were still sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. They really could sleep for forever and Harry was starting to envy that about the brothers. Locking the door he dialed Neville and hoped he wasn't bothering the wizard.

"Hello?"

"Neville, are you busy?"

"Not really. What's going on Harry?"

"I just wanted to see, well this is going to sound a bit strange." Harry warned.

"Anything stranger than wanting to know about exiled wizards?"

"Okay, maybe." Harry glanced up at the crunch of gravel beneath tires and watched as a truck pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of the interstate. "It's just, has there been anyone that has really been obnoxiously obvious in their hatred of me over there?"

"What happened?"

"Nothing, just is there anyone?" Harry hated lying to Neville, but there was no telling if Teddy could hear any part of this conversation or if there was anyone else listening in.

"Uh, not that I can think of. There's just the general people who ignore that you were ever here."

"That's rich." Harry snarked before he could stop himself. "I save their precious world and where to I end up? Exiled. Not that I hate where I am at all. It's just they act like I'm the damn plague. That I'm the one who killed all those people."

"Well we both know that you aren't." Neville tried to reassure Harry but was fading back into the stuttering that he was once known for. "Look, besides the Weasley's being angry for apparently letting you become part of the family, no one really talks about you. Andromeda does sometimes, you know about how she wishes that both you and Teddy were still here."

"You talk to her?"

"Yeah. She's okay. A bit miserable that both of you are gone, but she's okay." Neville answered the unasked question of, 'is she okay?'

"Are there any Death Eaters still around?" Harry winced at how paranoid that sounded.

"No. What's going on Harry? You know that all the Death Eaters were captured, and those who weren't captured right away ended up imprisoned or given the Kiss before you left."

"Thanks, Nev. I have to head in to work. I'll talk to you again later."

"Just because we're an ocean apart doesn't mean I'm not here for you, Harry."

"Right, thanks." Harry hung up and headed straight for the office and was not excited to see Thibodeaux leaning on the counter holding a yellow sheet of paper that looked vaguely familiar. Vaguely familiar in the sense that something bad had been reported to the manager.

"So in all the years you have worked here, you have never gone through anyone's belongings and if you have you've done a damn fine job at covering your tracks. So do you want to tell me why I've got this pretty little complaint form for you?" Thibodeaux took to waving the paper as if it were a flag and Harry snatched it out of his hand to read what it said. It had just the usual, 'who ever the fuck cleaned my room went through my shit and now I'm pissed' message on it.

"I didn't take anything from the guy's room, Thibodeaux." Harry said as he scanned the damage. The damn journal papers were what had been declared missing but Harry was one hundred percent sure Sam and Dean put them back. "And what the hell would I do with papers? If I were going to take something I would at least take something useful."

"Like a gun, or maybe some money." Thibodeaux smirked when Harry nodded in agreement.

"I did end up talking to him though. Guy wanted to meet his 'neighbor'" Harry fought the urge to tear the paper up and pocket the pieces to leave it on the pillow in Teddy's room later on. "Maybe I rubbed him the wrong way or something. I don't know."

"Maybe he isn't comfortable with that harem you've got going on over there."

"You trying to tell me something?" Harry took a step back so he didn't have Thibodeaux looking down on him. "Cause if you've got a problem with me, you know you just need to say it and I'll be out of your hair."

"I don't give a damn who you spend your spare time with, and you know it. Just be aware that he's going to be one of those people for both here and out there."

"Great, just great." Harry passed the paper back. "So to the shredder, yeah?"

"That sounds about right. Just don't let it happen again."

"Right." Harry snorted. "All the rooms today?"

"Except room seven, they specified no cleaning for the duration. Plus I figured you already knew that seeing as he's been in and out of your room." Thibodeaux shrugged. "It doesn't bother me if he likes his privacy or a dirty room. Start with the empties and go from there." Thibodeaux nodded to the key rings hanging on the wall behind him.

"Really, why would anyone take damn papers? They must have had really pretty pictures on them." Harry mumbled on his way out of the office making a mental note to remember that Teddy had managed to get some kind of wards up around his rooms. "Who complains at a motel?"

The rooms were cleaned and all Harry had left to do was to start washing the sheets. These were the moments he wished he didn't work at a motel. The sheets were something he never wanted to touch or even shove into a washing machine full of bleach and detergent hoping for the best.

The washers kicked on and Harry headed into the bathroom to wash the bleach from his skin when the door swung open and Teddy stood waiting. Harry paused taking in Teddy. Searching for a different type of magic that he didn't think he should have been looking for. Harry started to sift through the layers of disuse and lies before he found that heavy darkness that most who interact with demons have. It was almost suffocating. The way Teddy was drenched in the joy of causing so much fear and despair to others.

"You really shouldn't take things that aren't yours, Harry. Much less go into a room uninvited, I thought the war taught you that nasty lesson."

"I never took anything from you, but if you'll excuse me." Harry made to leave but Teddy blocked the exit with his body.

"Can we talk?"

"I'm a little busy, you know with work."

"It's kind of funny seeing you do this kind of work. The kind of work that your Aunt and Uncle made you do until your fingers bled." Teddy scratched at his forehead. "I just didn't picture you here. I figured you would do something else, something important. But this is not quite what anyone imagined of you. Not in this place, you just don't fit here."

Harry took a deep breath and bit his tongue before answering. "It's quiet here and I like it. No one bothers me. I have other things I need to do, Teddy. Maybe we can talk later, yeah?"

"All you have left is to wait for those sheets to finish washing and to stick them in the dryer. So you can take the time to listen to me. After all, I have been searching for you for years."

"Right." Harry nodded and took a step back. "So for someone so interested in getting to know me, why would you file a complaint against me? Not a friendly move and not something that makes me interested in talking to you at the moment."

"You took something that didn't belong to you. But that's not what I wanted to talk about." Teddy snapped at Harry.

"Really, so what do you want to talk about?"

"Why'd you abandon us?" Teddy shook his head. "Why did you abandon me?"

"I never abandoned you." Harry answered before making the decision to shove passed Teddy but a strong grip; nails digging into his arm stopped him. "You're going to want to let go of me."

"Why won't you talk to me? You'll spend your days and nights with them but you won't even talk to me. You always made the wrong decisions. Sending people into a fight they weren't ever going to win."

Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself enough to avoid attacking Teddy but with the last statement Harry felt the blow to his stomach."Maybe that is what it looked like to you, but everyone made choices."

"You made choices that you should be ashamed of. Someone needs to hold you responsible for them, Harry."

"Are you going to be the one to do that?"

"No, I'm just trying to understand why you made the decisions you did. I'm trying to understand why you did what you did and what you have changed into." The grip on Harry's arm grew tighter, sending tingles up his arm. "And you don't even want to see me."

"Let go, Teddy." Harry was beginning to lose any patience he had with Teddy. It grew more obvious that Teddy wasn't here to find Harry to rekindle the bonds that had been broken. No, there was a heavier, a more sinister reason for Teddy to be here. The way Teddy misspoke about abandoning 'us', the overly tight grip on Harry's arm. Enough to leave bruises.

A door opening down the walkway broke the tension that had filled the room and as footsteps headed closer Teddy automatically let go of Harry's arm and his lips morphed into a smile.

"Everything okay, Harry?" Dean's hand was slowly moving behind his back. It was a move Harry had known all too well. Dean knew it wasn't okay.

"Everything is fine. I just saw Harry on my way out and decided to say hello to him but as I said, I was just leaving." Teddy slipped passed Dean and moved quickly into his room.

"Want to tell me want that was about?" Dean gestured to the read marks marring Harry's arm.

"Not here. He could be listening." Harry headed back towards the room with Dean close behind him. Once in the room Sam was at the table clicking away on his laptop, and the television was left on as white noise.

"Now you want to tell me what was going on. I swear I need to send someone out there with you otherwise you're going to get yourself in trouble."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Harry answered the same time Dean launched into his own explanation. "Teddy was latched onto Harry and they were staring each other down. Look at his damn arm, Sam."

Sam moved from the table and grabbed Harry's forearm to look above the crook of his elbow. Harsh imprints of fingernails on Harry's arm were as already beginning to discolor his skin. "Why did he do this?"

"To prove a point I'm guessing." Harry shrugged. "This morning I had a complaint filed against me." Both Dean and Sam looked confused. "Yeah, I know. How often do people who stay in motels complain about anything? Never. But someone got upset that we read his journal."

"I put those papers back. The same exact place that they were in where I found them, right on the damn nightstand."

"I know that." Harry scratched the back of his neck. "He had the room warded and we tripped something when you got the papers."

"Warded? Like with what you did out there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah but probably more basic. It could have alerted him of intruders, or the fact that we took something. You can do anything with wards for a room. He could have rigged it to hurt you when you took something. We're lucky that it wasn't that kind of ward."

"So there really is another wizard here. We just don't have a clue who it is." Sam started to pace across the room. "Not only that, but we don't have a clue as to what they want."

"We know what they want, Sam." Harry answered.

"Really? What do they want, Harry? Because last night you had no clue and after looking at what you worked on all night, you still don't have a clue."

"What did he say to you?" Dean put a stop to the argument before it could begin.

"He said I made the wrong choices, sending people to their deaths."

"You didn't do that. You had to plan and you had decisions to make. Those people who died, they chose to fight. People die in war." Dean pushed his anger away and tried to reassure Harry in the only way he knew how.

"I know that." Harry rolled his eyes. "Then he said I abandoned them and someone should hold me responsible for that. So, Sam we do know what they want. They want me and more than likely they want to kill me."

"So why not just find you and shoot you? I'm sorry to say it, but that would be a whole lot easier than all of this."

Harry just looked at Sam, waiting for Sam to figure it out but Sam was stubborn and waited for Harry to answer the question. The pacing stopped right in front of Harry and Dean finally took initiative to answer.

"Because you aren't that easy to kill are you?"

"It takes a lot more than a bullet, or even a killing curse to kill me." Harry looked at the floor and towards the blank walls to avoid looking at either Winchester. "I get hurt just like any normal person would, but I heal up faster. But to kill me, that would take some serious work. You'd have to drain my core into exhaustion and then I'd be as good as dead. Once my core is drained I'm no good to anyone." Harry admitted.

"How did you figure all this out? You don't figure these things out by chance." Sam rubbed at his eyes before looking at Harry.

"It wasn't hard to figure out after I got hit by a killing curse in the final battle and didn't go down. It just felt like a stronger torture curse. Then after the battle I couldn't do much but sleep and the healer thought I lost my magic because I had exhausted my core."

"So if there aren't any witches or wizards here, get the next best thing that can really do some damage. Say an army of magical demons. That would do it, wouldn't it?"

"They don't stop until you exorcise them and if there are enough of them, I wouldn't be able to get to them all." Harry nodded in agreement with Dean. "That would kill me."

Harry bit the inside of his cheek before he looked up at Sam. "That's what has been freaking you out, isn't it? My magic?" Harry took a moment, reflecting on each time Sam started to shy away from Harry. The way Sam was in awe of how quickly Harry's arm had healed from the burn, and how Dean jerked back away from it like it was a burst of energy. Then it finally dawned on him why Sam would be uncomfortable with Harry using magic, he could feel it. "You both can feel it, can't you?"

"Kind of hard not to." Dean smirked. "It crawls all over the place when you do any kind of mojo."

"Neither of you said a word about it when I warded the motel and that took a lot of magic to do."

"We figured that out, too. Closed spaces, like this room, kind of makes it hard to breathe." Sam explained.

"Hard to breath?" Harry prompted, trying to get Sam to just say it instead of beating around the bush.

"Sammy here likes it a little too much when you use your magic."

"Dean!" Sam buried his head in his hands to hide the red coloring his cheeks. "Can we not talk about this like it's an everyday kind of topic?"

"Well, it kind of is. At least it is for us." Dean smirked at the glare Sam sent his way.

"Not talking about this with you in the room." Sam buried his face further in attempt to disappear all together.

"Right, well I'll have to remember that for a rainy day." Harry smirked at the look of mortification that crossed Sam's face before a there was a heavy knock against the door. Dean moved to open the door to see Bobby standing, hands thrust deep in his pockets.

"So you boys figure anything out or was today just a hen party type of day?"

"We think we might know why they want me dead." Harry answered as Bobby shuffled through the door.

"Want to enlighten me?"

"Because, I'm the one responsible for everything in their eyes."

"Right, so why do they want to kill these two?" Bobby nodded in Sam and Dean's direction. "Cause those demons could probably kill them or there is something they can do that they don't know they can do?"

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Figures you'd forget about that." Bobby pulled at the bill of his hat before straightening it back out. "I might have an idea about who your wizard is."

"What do you mean, Bobby?" Sam stood and moved over towards Bobby.

"I followed your boy around today. Probably more than the three of you have managed and he met up with someone. I didn't get a good look at the guy but I can tell you that he's got some kind of crazy going on."

"What does he look like, Bobby?"

"Dark hair that's all I got a good look at. Your boy talked to him through the window of a car."

"Where did you see them at?" Harry was pulling on his shoes and grabbing for his jacket.

"About forty minutes outside of town. There isn't anything you can do about it now, he's long gone by now." Bobby was watching Harry in confusion.

"Magic leaves a mark. Very few wizards can recognize, feel, or even see auras. I'm one of them. I might be able to recognize it or pick something up from it that none of you can." Harry stopped at the door looking at each of the hunters still stationary. "Well I need you to show me where to go and I'm willing to bet that those two want to come with. Hurry up."


	15. Chapter 15

Harry's hand hovered over the doorknob as he waited for both Sam and Dean as they jumped from where they were sitting and they scrambled to pull jackets on and then shoved their feet into their shoes. Dean tossed his keys over to Bobby so he could drive. Each hunter slid into the Impala with practiced ease, Harry and Sam in the backseat and Bobby and Dean in the front.

Harry watched as buildings faded out and then back in when they reached city limits as his knee bobbed in anxiety. Dean turned so he could see into the backseat and looked at Harry for a moment before speaking.

"So how does this work, the whole magic leaving a mark and you being able to recognize it?"

"Everything leaves a mark. Even you and Sam leave one. I guess being who I am I can sense or see a person's aura or their mark. Sometimes I can pick up little blurbs about who was there or what could happen. It all has to do with power levels I guess."

"So what are you going to do whenever we get there?" Sam titled his head in thought catching sight of Harry's bouncing leg. He placed a hand over Harry's knee to stop the movement. "Calm down."

Harry paused at the heat from Sam's hand before answering the question, wondering if the touch was as much of an apology as he was going to get from Sam. "Well Bobby will point out wherever the car was and if there's anything there I might be able to sense it. I just need to be able to concentrate."

"Hopefully you get something, kid. We're about to be there." Bobby pointed towards an empty parking lot and pulled the Impala to a stop on the outermost spots.

"They met up for tea." Dean eyed the sign, Tea Parlor. How fitting.

"Well Teddy went in after talking to whoever was in the car." Bobby explained as they all stepped out of the Impala.

"Where exactly were they?" Harry asked and followed where Bobby pointed to, right next to a pothole in the parking lot. "Convenient." Harry murmured before walking over.

The closer Harry got he could feel a faint charge of magic crackling in the air. He took in the tire tracks and the heavy shoes prints surrounded by lighter prints before squatting to get closer to the dirt. Running his fingers through the dirt Harry could feel the magic intensifying. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he cast out his senses, trying to find anything that he might be able to recognize.

He watched the magic weave together and outwards from behind closed eyes. He could hear the murmur of voices as he grew closer to seeing the scene in clarity. There was something familiar about this magic. They way it quivered when it sensed something more powerful but at the same time it was brave in it's own right. Even if Harry's magic was something to watch out for, what Harry was sensing was that this person know how to put up a front. The faint traces started to pulse and Harry recognized the magic as someone who he should know. Falling backwards onto his ass, Harry opened his eyes and blinking the weaves that lingered in the air away.

"You alright over there, Harry?" Dean had taken a step forward but stopped waiting for Harry to answer him.

"I'm fine." Harry answered before looking around the parking lot. Searching for anything that could give him answers.

"Did you get anything from this little exercise of yours?" Bobby stood with his hands in his pockets.

"I know him, whoever it is." Harry answered as he wiped his hands clean on his pants leg and then brushed the rest of the dirt off.

"You know him? Meaning you know who it is?" Sam asked as they waited for Harry moved across the gravel parking spaces separating them.

"I recognize it." Harry answered before resting against the Impala and between Sam and Dean.

"That's all you got, is that you recognize it." Sam looked at the area before looking at Harry again.

"It felt like," Harry floundered for a minute before coming up with words to describe the feeling, "It felt like someone I knew but I can't put my finger on who it is. There's something about how it reacted that is extremely familiar to me but I can't place it."

"Well it ain't like you've seen anyone from back home since you were exiled." Bobby muttered before tossing Dean the keys to the Impala. They all got in and Harry was sitting next to Sam staring out the window racking his brains for anyone who would risk coming over to the states to get retribution.

When they got back to the motel, Bobby disappeared into his room as the Winchesters and Harry headed into Harry's room. Dean sat on the bed and watched as Harry straightened objects around the room and began organizing what had been left out around the room.

As soon as Sam disappeared into the bathroom and the shower started running Dean stood up and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to put a stop to all the anxious movement.

"What?" Harry spun around and searched Dean's face as he remained quiet. "Dean?"

"Can I ask you a question about the whole auras thing?"

"Okay." Harry moved to sit and Dean followed suit, sitting across from Harry.

"When we first met and you told me that Sam needed me, was that kind of like what you were doing today?"

Harry took a few moments to form an answer that would be easy to understand. It would have been an easier task if Harry understood every aspect of the gift himself. "When we first met, I felt a darkness surrounding you. I was curious and when I dig, sometimes I get flashes. Most of the time I just see what has happened. You know the things that have caused you to become who you are today but if there is something really important, I get brief glimpses of what may end up being the future. It can be images, sounds, or even both."

"Darkness? So you decided to go digging around in my mind?"

"You intrigued me." Harry admitted softly. "That darkness I felt coming from you was what I could feel in myself. I wanted to know why you were like me and then I saw Sam. I knew that you needed to get to him."

"Do you do that often?"

"I only did it when I first got here. I had to know if the people I came in contact with were somebody I should keep away from. Sometimes I could tell who was human or who had fallen into things that they shouldn't have."

"So this darkness?" Dean closed his eyes at the thought of all the things he had done. All the mistakes he had made.

"Every hunter has it, Dean. Bobby, Sam, you, and me. We all have it."

"So it's not something bad?" Dean opened his eyes and looked back at Harry. "It's not something I should be sitting here worrying about?"

"No, it's not." Harry stood back up as soon as the water shut off. "I know who it is. I just can't figure it out."

"What did you see?" Dean questioned resisting the urge to force Harry to sit down. His restlessness was getting on his nerves.

"What are you two talking about?" Sam looked around as he clutched his towel. "And where are my clothes. I just set them out."

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were about to change into them. I threw them back in your duffle." Harry gave a shrug.

"Right, so what were you talking about?"

"What Harry found out earlier," Dean supplied for Sam as they both waited for an answer from Harry.

"I felt the magic more than anything but I saw Teddy. I heard the muffled sound of voices but they were mixed together and I couldn't make anything out."

"You said in the care you recognized it." Sam said as he pulled a shirt on. "What did you mean by that?"

"How it reacted to my presence.

"Which was?" Sam questioned.

"Strange." Harry answered. "I need a shower and food."

"I'll go get something." Dean stood up and grabbed his keys. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Be careful." Harry reminded as Dean stepped over the salt line and out the door.

"Harry?"

"What's up, Sam?"

"I just wanted to say I was sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything," Sam watched as Harry shuffled through the dresser drawers in search of clean clothes. "For freaking out about your magic and for how I reacted to it. It's difficult feeling something like that and realizing that you're something I used to hunt. Now I would do anything to make sure you stay alive."

"It's okay." Harry watched as the corner of Sam's lips curved upwards.

"It's not. I should have talked to you or even Dean," Sam ran his hands through his damp hair, "Normally I would have but something scared me."

"Sam," Harry cut Sam off and crowded into his space, "I told you its okay and that you're forgiven. Let it go."

"How do you do that? Just gloss over the fact that I treated you like that?"

"Even if you were a prat to me, at least you took the time to think it through. Most people would have just taken off running and you didn't." Harry brushed a thumb across Sam's jaw line before stepping back with a grin. "Plus I forgave you as soon as Dean let the cat out of the bag. I need that shower I mentioned earlier."

Harry turned with his clothes in hand, when his cell phone started to ring. Sam scooped it up off the table and tossed it to Harry who caught it in his empty hand. 'Neville', was displayed on the caller ID and Harry silenced the phone and tossed it onto the empty bed.

"Who was that?" Sam asked.

"Neville." Harry hesitated before elaborating. "I just don't know if I should talk to anyone right now. Until we figure out who Teddy is working with I don't really think it's safe to be talking to Neville about this."

"Isn't he the guy you've been getting your information from though?"

"Yeah and what's saying that I can trust him completely?" Harry shrugged. "It's not him. That magic was way too strong to be anywhere near what he can do, even if he's a strong wizard. If he has anything important he'll leave a message and if he needs anything I'll call him back." Harry eyed the phone for a few seconds before hearing the chirp that signaled a new voicemail had been left and he headed into the bathroom to take a shower. The voicemail could wait until later.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning came too quickly for Harry's tastes. Before he knew it he was back in the office getting the run down from Thibodeaux on what rooms needed cleaning and which rooms remained vacant overnight when his phone started ringing again. 'Neville', flashed on the caller ID again and Harry sent the call the voicemail and realized he forgot to check the voicemail from last night before going to bed. The phone chirped signaling another voicemail as Harry moved the grab the cart and started cleaning rooms.

In the first room Harry stripped the beds and fixed clean sheets on them as played the messages back. "Harry, its Neville. Just call me back as soon as you get this." Harry skipped the message that was just left and sighed at the dead air and was about to delete the message when Neville's voice finally came over the line, "Harry, I'm worried about you, mate. You haven't called me back and I know you get busy but just let me know you're okay? I've been hearing some weird things about are going on over in the US. Just cal me back, okay?"

Harry sighed and gave in as he scrolled down to Neville's number and hit call. Neville picked up on the second ring.

"Harry?"

"Hey Neville sorry I didn't answer or call you back right away. I've just been a little busy with everything going on here." Harry grabbed the cleaning solution and a rag off the cart and headed into the bathroom to start wiping down the mirror and the sink.

"You're still at the motel you work at and you're okay though right?"

"Yeah I'm still here and I'm still alright. Why? What's going on?"

"Like I said, I heard some weird things are going on over in the US. An over abundance of supernatural beings with access to magic that shouldn't be able to use it. Something or someone is using massive amounts of dark magic and causing havoc. It's all in one area, Harry. It's all in the south."

"How do you know all of this, Neville?" Harry stopped cleaning the bathroom and he moved back into the main room. He tossed the bottle of his doctored solution onto the cart followed by the rag before sitting on the bed to concentrate on what Neville was trying to tell him.

"The Ministry, as bipolar as it is, is monitoring places where dark wizards have last been spotted. They're trying to avoid another uprising like Lord Voldemort."

"Who are they monitoring, Neville?"

"Harry, you're the only one who wasn't stripped of your magic."

"Right, thanks for the heads-up, Neville. I'll call you if anything pops up but I'm not using dark magic." Harry felt something prickling at his skin, like something was off with what Neville was saying.

"I know." Neville responded. "I've got to go, I'll call you later."

Harry stared at the phone in his hand. Why would the Ministry monitor the witches and wizards they exiled so cruelly? How would they manage to monitor anyone in the first place? It wasn't an easy task finding anyone with magic over here. If you did find another witch or wizard you found them by coincidence. There wasn't anyway to track them unless before they were exiled a tracking spell was placed on their person but even then that would fade over a period of time, rendering the whole process pointless.

The sound of footsteps behind him had Harry slowly standing up next to the cart. He could feel the heaviness that accompanied something entirely too wicked to be human it made the air crawl all around him. Turning to look towards the door way Harry took in the dirtied skin and bulky muscle hidden beneath long sleeves and jeans. Taking a step backwards, Harry whispered, "Christo."

A sharp snap of the demon's head and his eyes flickered to black. Harry cursed the fact that he was stupid enough to think he was safe enough within the motel's wards to not bring any sort of weapon with him. The only thing he had was the cleaning solution he mixed holy water into. "That's not going to me and you should know that by now."

"Why do you say that?"

"Chemicals? That's all you've got? Come on. A big bad hunter like you should know better than that by now."

"Are you sure that's the only thing in this?" Harry started to twist the top off the container and tossed the cap onto the floor.

"I think I know when a hunter is bluffing and when he isn't." The demon shrugged. "Probably why they picked me to do this, even if it took forever to get through those wards of yours, I tend to have a little more talent than the rest of the scourge out there."

"Really? You got a name?" Harry stepped backwards towards the bathroom, putting the cleaning cart between himself and the demon.

"It's Samael. So now you know my name why don't you come out from behind that pretty yellow cart of yours? Or is the great Harry Potter scared?" He smirked as he hovered outside the open doorway.

"Samael, the Chief of Devils?" Harry muttered under his breath.

"Finally, someone knows my importance." He threw his hands in the air before clasping them together in front of his stomach. "So, I've heard you can kill my kind, not in the just sending us back to hell but more of the, poof! We're gone forever."

"I don't know where you're getting your information from, but you're mistaken." Harry bided his time. Hoping that maybe he could bait the demon into stepping into the warding that was carved into the wood awnings. At least there he would be trapped and harry wouldn't be so cornered in.

"I figured you would be a little taller. I mean compared to the other guys who gave us our little boost, you're a bit short. You're short even from where I'm standing," The demon took one step closer and tilted its head, "You're not intimidating at all. I can't taste your power and you are a coward hiding out behind those runes."

Harry felt his heart speed up at the mention of the runes but caught the plural pronoun. Harry tried digging for more information."They? There's more than one of them after me?"

"I don't have all day here. I am working on a deadline."

"I apologize for ruining your day then. Maybe you should invest in a watch."

"Funny but I mean it. If I don't get you, I die. See how this works." The demon shrugged. "I don't plan on ending my existence anytime soon"

"They can kill you?"

"Not in the sense you can but it will hurt."

"They got you through my wards or was it all you?" Harry edged closer towards the doorway.

"No comment."

"See that's what I thought, Samael." Harry scratched his chin before pouring some of the liquid solution onto his palm and let it sit there. "You may be the Chief of Devils, but you aren't anything compared to what I am."

"I am so much more than a freak of a wizard."

"Really? You can't get passed my wards, you have to have a power boost from another wizard, and you don't have anyone backing you up."

"I don't need anyone. I took your wards down in five minutes flat. I don't need either of those worthless excuses of wizards."

"Sure you do." Harry smirked at as anger began to flood the demon's face. "Unless you were sent on a suicide mission? So who are they?"

"No one."

"See I don't believe that." Harry tossed the water that had been resting in his palm out towards the demon and watched as steam hissed and billowed up off its skin.

"You will regret that." Harry watched as the demon inched closer and closer towards the markings, just a bit more and he'd be trapped.

"I think they realized you were a bit of a loose cannon." Harry watched as its foot stepped into the ward lines. "You want to tell me who they are?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because you're about to die." Harry shrugged and waited for an answer.

"You think so?"

"I know so." Harry fought off a grin. "Plus I know one of them already. His real name, or the name I know him by is Teddy."

"But you see that's not the one you have to worry about. See the thing with humans, is they all have a weakness. You know this Harry. And once Teddy lost his magic and couldn't find you, we just used Mandy get what we needed. She was once a witch just like you and Teddy. Bet you don't remember her? Well you wouldn't you were too busy making sure you saved their world but the moment you did and wanted some peace you kind of screwed yourself over didn't you? They weren't ready to let you have that peace you worked so hard for."

He took another step forward and out of the ward lines. Harry's heart stuttered in his chest before it started racing. Oh fuck. Harry swallowed the spit in his mouth and tilted the bottle preparing to sling the solution before apparating out of the room.

"You didn't think those pretty little marks would keep me back did you?" Samael tsked before moving further into the room. "The only marks I have to worry about are those lovely little runes that were burned into your skin. So if you'll kindly come with me we have places to be."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Harry heaved a breath, visualizing his room as he prepared to apparate.

"If you don't I will kill the Winchesters. I'll start with Sam. I think you know why I'll start with Sam. It will just tear Dean apart and then I'll get Dean. Do you understand what I am saying, Harry? I will kill you all." Samael stepped closer. "I wouldn't try that little trick of yours. I'll follow you where ever you go. Handy thing human contact is. You've had a tracker on you since Teddy got here."

"I'll take my chances." Harry took a deep breath and flung the water out onto Samael. Harry felt the air moving around him as he popped out of the room and into his. Dean and Sam were sitting on the bed and jumped up at the crack in the air. "Get Bobby!" Harry yelled as he yanked open the bottom drawer of his dresser and pulled out the fake bottom revealing his blades and a gun.

"What the hell is going on, Harry?" Sam asked as both Winchester's switched into combat mode searching for any kind of weapon they could get their hands on.

"There's a demon in the motel. Go get Bobby." Harry closed his eyes at the twin crack in the air. "Now!"

"Now, Harry. I told you that little trick of yours wouldn't work." Harry watched as steam billowed and hissed off the demon's skin before balancing a blade in one hand, praying that this was one of the weapons Bobby and Sam took to get blessed.

"One of you needs to go and you need to go now." Harry ground out between his teeth. The only sound that echoed across the room was of each breath taken as Sam and Dean quickly communicated who needed to run for Bobby and who needed to stay. What it all came down to was who could get rid of the demon if something happened to Harry and the only one who had a fighting chance was Sam. He knew the exorcism rites by heart and that was their only other chance.

"Where are they going to go? Out there?" The demon hiked a thumb over his shoulder gesturing towards the parking lot. "What's that going to get them? Away from me and you dead? Not that great of an idea if you ask me, Harry."

Harry watched as Dean started to edge around the room to make for Bobby's room and Sam started to pull back towards Harry with gun in hand.

"Why are you sending the muscle away? I figured you'd send lanky over here?"

Harry waited until Dean had a hand on the doorknob and the harsh glare of light slammed into the room. "Because lanky over here can perform a perfect exorcism is if you kill me." Harry didn't wait to find out if Dean made it out the room before attacking.

Sam began reciting the exorcism rites as Harry and Samael began to fight each other. Harry's breathing became labored as he threw and blocked blows from Samael. The demon hit like a freight train. Harry grunted when Samael kneed him in the gut. "That exorcism isn't going to do much to me, Harry." Harry felt his world spin, as if a block of cement pounded against the side of his face. "I thought you already figured out the only way to get rid of us is through you and you aren't doing to well from the looks of it."

"I'll take what I can." Harry said as he landed a powerful blow to the face and Harry followed the action by slicing his blade across the demons throat. Samael brought his hands up to his body's throat and rolled his eyes.

"Now, look what you did." The response slowly turned into gurgled sounds but Harry could imagine the rest of what Samael was going to say but then something happened as Sam neared the end of the rite. Samael grew terrified and began clawing at his skin. Harry looked at Sam and then around the room trying to figure out what was going on. Sam paused in the rite but Harry motioned him to continue.

As soon as Sam was finished the dark cloud swarmed up towards the ceiling and around the room searching for a way out. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before casting the killing curse on the cloud.

"What the fuck just happened?" Sam looked at the bloodied floor and the crumpled body and then back up to Harry. "I shouldn't have been able to do that. Why was I able to and how did he get in?" Sam started pacing, gun still gripped tightly in his hand and Harry stepped over the body and in front of Sam and lightly grasped Sam's hand and slid the gun from his grip. Harry slid the active round from the chamber and clicked the safety on.

"All I know is that the demon that we just killed was Samael, the Chief of Devils. So the fact that he got through the main ward and all the wards on the awnings around the buildings probably means he obliterated them leaving us open to anything and everything out there." Sam's head snapped up.

"We need to get to Dean and Bobby."

"I would have to agree with you there." Harry nodded and wiped his blade clean with a dirtied towel and promised himself that he'd take the time to fully clean it later before moving to grab his favorite handgun and placed it in the band of his pants. Sam watched Harry gearing up and took that as his cue to swipe his balisong knife off the nightstand and watched as Harry turned around in the room looking for something.

"What about the, the uh," Sam pointed to the corpse. Harry eyed the body before flicking his wrist and it vanished from the floor. "Do I want to know where that went?"

"Somewhere it will be found." Harry answered and with another flick of the wrist the carpet was clean and the scent of blood was gone from the room. "We need to check on Bobby and Dean and come up with a plan." Harry muttered as he held the door open for Sam and turned to lock it behind them.

"So do you have a plan as to what we're going to do now?" Sam asked as they walked quickly towards Bobby's.

"Kind of making it up as I go. I wasn't expecting to be attacked in daylight. I, we, should have seen something like this coming." Harry paused outside Bobby's room and knocked heavily. As he waited for someone to answer, Harry turned towards Sam with his head tilted away from Sam's scrutiny. "I know that I need to redo the wards as soon as I can otherwise anything can get in here."

The door cracked open and Harry held his hands up and took a step away from the door at the sight of the gun in Dean's hand. Dean toed a plastic bottle of holy water out the door and waited for both Harry and Sam to take a sip from it before he allowed either of them in. "God damn, don't ever make me leave you two like that again." Dean grabbed Sam quickly in a hug and then did the same with Harry.

Bobby eyed the action from where he was seated and coughed into his hand to get each of the hunters' attention. "Want to tell me what the hell happened while I was trying to eat my biscuits?"

"Well, Bobby." Dean scratched the back of his neck. "I think the shit really hit the fan."

"Apparently, since Dean told me you've got a demon that can pass through your wards, multiple times and it's working for Teddy and his counterpart." Bobby agreed with a nod. "Want to tell me where he is now?"

"Dead." Harry supplied as he sat down with a grimace. "Which is a confusing matter in it's self."

"Want to explain that one to me?"

"First he made it through the wards of the motel," Sam cut in as he watched Harry trying to catalogue from injuries, noting the way Harry tilted his head trying to hide something from the rest of them, "then he made it through the wards from the awnings."

"Who was he?" Bobby asked.

"Samael." Harry answered.

"The guy is a strong demon, the fact Harry could take him out is a big deal, Sam." Bobby eyed them both.

"Sam exorcised him from his body."

"What?" Dean looked between Harry and Sam expecting one of them to say, 'gotcha!'.

"Yeah I don't get it either. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty grateful that Sam managed to do it but why did it work this time?" Harry asked as he slowly leaned back onto the mattress. "And why didn't it work any other time, why did it have to be me?"

"You okay over there?" Bobby watched Harry's halted movements. "Not healing up as quickly as usual."

"Just bruised." Harry answered and the room fell silent. "We need a plan."

"Did he use magic at all?" Bobby asked.

"No, but that doesn't explain how he got through the wards." Harry scratched his scar. "He was probably powerful enough to get through them but he would have needed a bit of help."

"Might explain why Sam over there was able to exorcise him, though." Bobby pulled on the bill of his hat. "He say anything interesting while he was alive?"

"Nothing but a bunch of talk. He did confirm that there were only two of them working together."

"Yeah, like we didn't know that already." Dean muttered under his breath.

"There could have been more that we didn't know about." Bobby snapped. "Anything else I should know about?"

"The wards weren't anything to him. The only thing he had to worry about was the runes on my skin."

"I thought they were just protection runes." Dean said.

"Which could be a good thing for me, you know. Protection from demon possession without knowing I had it in the first place." Harry shrugged and winced at the action.

"You remember what they all mean?"

"Passed out after the first two and never really had the chance to look up the others and I didn't really want to remember if you get me, Bobby."

"Mind if I take a look and maybe find out for you?" Bobby stood up and moved to where Harry was sitting. "It might be helpful knowing if we say something in Latin and you blow to smithereens why it happened."

"Sure." Harry leaned on his side and peeled his shirt up and both Dean and Sam shot up and over to Harry.

"What the hell?" Dean lightly traced the bruised skin.

"That's what happens when you get in a fight, Dean. It's not a big deal."

"Really?" Sam asked as he leaned over Harry and cupped his face in one hand and with gentle finger tips Sam brushed the fringe away from Harry's face. "Are you going to tell us that this isn't a big deal, Harry? He didn't even hit you in the face." His scar was an irritated read and the left side of his face had exploded in bruises. The skin had begun to swell and as soon as Sam's finger tips brushed across the span of skin Harry hissed from the contact.

"Look," Harry sat up brushing their hands away and pointedly focused on Bobby. "We're not going to have time to redo the wards around the motel. The best plan that we have right now are those blessed weapons and I hope they work."

"I've got half in here and you had the other half. I'm assuming you forgot you had them?" Of course they forgot about them until Harry was in a pinch and he didn't even think that his favorite blade was among the holy. There hadn't been demons in the area for how long? There wasn't a time to actually use them, to test them out. There wasn't a need and now all they had was a half assed plan.

"Well at least we have that." Harry nodded to himself. "Any other ideas?"

"Yeah for you to get some sleep. If anything's coming it'll be coming now." Bobby growled as he started moving around the room and Harry watched in amazing as a mass amount of weapons came from various hiding places from around the room. "Sam there's a bag in that closet there. We're heading to Harry's room. More room to move about in and easier escape routes."

Harry groaned as he sat up and felt everything stop. Fire shot out across his skin every muscle in his body halted. It was only a moment and then everything that held him hostage released him.

There was a knock on the door and Bobby was moving with gun in hand towards the door and Dean was moving to the window. Harry's body moved before his mind recognized the action. Harry pushed Sam backwards and Bobby to the side of the room before grabbing Dean and tossing him to the floor. They all looked at him with wide eyes as he opened the door and he stepped back with a sharp gasp before every spell he could think of came running to the forefront of his mind as he raised his blade.

"Hello, Harry."


	16. Chapter 16

A flick of a pale wrist held Harry's arms and blade poised in a downward thrust suspended in the air. "Isn't it a little rude to try and kill the only person who talked to you before you up and left everybody back home?" Emerald eyes pinned to the malevolent chocolate eyes taunting him as a burn started to run up and down his arm. A burn that made Harry wish he could pull his arm down to clutch it at his side, to do anything to stop the burning.

"Harry," Dean was starting to stand up from the floor and Harry could hear both Sam and Bobby moving around in the room, trying to get closer.

"No, we can't have that." An ashen hand gripped Harry's arm tightly, pulling the blade from his grip and letting it fall to the floor before Harry felt like he was being pushed through a tube and every inch of his skin lit on fire as an explosion of pain rocked through his scar and through his nerves. As soon as Harry stumbled into a dank room as a wave a familiarity washed over him before the distinct pin prick of a needle dig into his muscles and fatigue began to blur his vision and he couldn't hold himself up. "Not so helpless anymore am I Harry?"

"Never were," Harry garbled out as he tumbled towards the floor and felt a pair of hands wrap around his arms and start to drag him.

 

"Flattery isn't going to get you out of this one, Harry. You might have been able to turn on that Potter charm for the Winchesters so they didn't kill you for what you became but that's not going to work on me and Teddy. We've got some things we need to talk about in a little while but for now you just get some sleep because you're going to need all the rest you can get later on."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the fuck just happened?" Dean scrambled up from the floor to the doorway Harry had been in but was now empty. "Where is he?"

Sam rushed away from the wall to grab at Dean's shirt to do anything to calm the blood that was rushing through his veins and the breaths that were spilling over his lips too quickly. "Dean," Sam's fingers curled in Dean's sleeve and his stomach dropped at the visible panic that was coursing across his brother's eyes. "Dean," Sam repeated as he tried to pull himself to the surface. He needed to get himself together. They needed to find a way to get to Harry. They needed to get Harry back.

"You two need to snap out of it, otherwise we ain't going to find the boy until it's too late. You understand me?" Bobby jerked Sam away from Dean and it rattled them enough to look at Bobby and to take a deep breath. "You both with me?"

"With you," Dean nodded. "What are we going to do, Bobby? What can we do?"

"We're going to sit down and go over what has been happening. Then we're going to go and get your boy back alive because that's the only option we have, Dean." Bobby answered as he moved towards the closet and started pulling books from one of the leather bags that littered the floor.

"We don't have time to read through an entire library, Bobby. Harry doesn't have time for us to do that." Sam ran his fingers through his hair a bit off the urge to hurl the closest thing to him against the motel wall.

"We've got the time to get this right, and that's what we're going to do." Bobby pulled out a tomb and flipped towards a marked page.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, I think he's finally coming around, Teddy." The voice sounded like it was underwater and Harry couldn't recognize it but he could feel the cool air brushing against his skin. Moving his hands to feel his chest his wrists were caught in restraints. Blinking his eyes Harry tried to get the blurred edges to disappear from his vision so he could see what was going on. "It might be a bit fuzzy for a little while longer, Harry. Grace never did explain to me how sedatives worked before I had to get rid of her."

"Why are you doing this?" Harry's words were slurred together as he jerked at the restraints that had him strapped down to the table. "Why?"

"Always asking questions, aren't you?" Harry heard footsteps growing closer towards him and coaxed his body into relaxing instead of flying off into panic. "See, now that's the Harry I remember. All that panic painted in every muscle," cool fingers traced the contours of Harry's shoulders and down to his biceps, ending at the leather restraints before a pale face hovered over his. "And all that panic and terror was always etched all over your face. You never really fooled any of us as you lead us out onto that battlefield. We knew we were all going to die."

"You didn't, Neville." Harry flinched away from the pale fingers as they flittered over the bridge of his nose before they attempted to follow the scar.

"No, I didn't. You did you disgusting creature." Harry jolted from the flames that shot from the harsh taps against his scar and fanned outwards across his face. "I see that scar has been bothering you, how about the rest of them? Specifically the runes?"

"Feels like fire?" Harry turned towards the familiar voice of Teddy and grimaced at the black irises. "Fire or ice, depends on what your mind finds most painful. Judging from the amount of sweating you've been doing since we got you here I'm putting my money on the fire."

Harry began to tune Teddy's manic ranting out as he summoned every ounce of magic inside of him that he could find. He needed to get out of the restraints and away from Neville and Teddy. He needed to get back to Sam and Dean so they could stop this mess together. Harry could feel the familiar crackle of energy against his skin but nothing was happening. Nothing was happening but his heartbeat pounding against his chest, trying to break through. Harry couldn't catch his breath.

Harry caught sight of Neville's grinning face and ground his teeth. "What did you do to me?"

"Well you see, you really are too powerful for any person, demon, or Ministry to handle. Dumbledore knew that and that's why he had those runes burned into your skin."

"No," Harry shook his head. The runes, they were meant for protection and stability, to help him survive the final battle.

"Do you really believe that, Harry? I mean he did ask for you to have someone there with you that you trusted, which I'm glad to say at the time was myself. You were awake for the good runes, but this one," Neville's index finger outlined the third rune on the underside of Harry's arm. "It was to bind all your magic, granted because I didn't cast this rune into your skin it doesn't have the full effect but it sure feel like it doesn't it? Nothing getting past those fingertips anytime soon."

Harry felt the fingers travel to the next rune and had to hold back a scream as the burn grew deeper and felt like he being boiled alive. "This one, this one is the best one Dumbledore found and the best part about it was that even Snape tried to convince him not to put it on you."

"Liar," Harry spat out and bit back a groan of pain when he felt a hand yank his hair back and his head slammed hard against the table.

"It'd do best for you to remember to stay quiet, Potter." Teddy growled out as Neville grinned towards Teddy before refocusing on the rune on Harry's arm.

"This one, as long as it's in its true form, could kill you." Neville leaned over Harry face. "I bet you didn't think Dumbledore would do that to his favorite Golden Boy did you? He was just as afraid of you as the rest of us were."

"Why involve the demons?"

"The demons?" Neville repeated with a hum.

"If you wanted to kill me the runes are the easiest, why bother with the demons and funneling your magic through them to get to me."

"Oh you have gotten smarter in the past few years, haven't you Harry?" Neville moved out of Harry's line of sight along with Teddy and he could hear the metal clatter against a tabletop before Neville continued speaking. "Well, once we realized who you had gotten involved with, the Winchesters, we'd have the favor of the Gods if we got rid of them."

Harry caught the glint of light off the knife in Neville's hand as Neville moved towards Harry's right side. "We'd actually be getting a lot in return for disposing of two Winchesters and Bobby Singer." Teddy added as he moved to the opposite side of Neville.

"Ready, Teddy. This is going to get a little nasty but it has to be done before we can actually kill him. Dumbledore didn't do all his research, and if he did he was a little to sickened by the end of the night to add one last rune." Neville explained with his knife poised inches above Harry's stomach.

Harry felt the roil of nerves and adrenaline as the knife pressed against his skin before the endorphins rushed through his blood stream from the pain of Neville carving into his flesh. He bit hard into his lip and each breath came out labored through his nose as Harry tried to block out what Neville was doing to him.

"You need to stop moving or I'll just have to do this over and we would both rather not go through this again. Am I correct, Harry?" Neville sighed as he started cutting into Harry's skin again. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing this for. Well its simple .This will slowly drain you of all your energy until you don't have any left. Assuming that you've consummated your relationship with the Winchesters and from what I've heard from Teddy over there, you have, it'll start to drain them also."

"Why?"

"Because, Harry, you abandoned us when we had nothing left. You left us all behind."

"They were going to exile me. I just left before they had the chance to, Neville." Harry twisted and ignored the pain the slide across his skin with the knife. "This doesn't make any sense, why are you doing this?"

"Because it was prophesized. While the twice marked walks the earth it shall remain in shambles. Until he has been vanquished the world will remain at war. Uniting the heavens with the flames, peace shall be restored. The one marked twice by death must die by the hand of the abandoned." Neville recited the prophecy robotically as he wiped a bloodied hand over Harry's skin to start the process over.

"Neville, why?"

"Shut up!" Teddy slammed a fist across Harry's face. "He's doing what needs to be done. You caused all of this. You caused our world to resort to exiling good witches and wizards because they were different. You caused that because you couldn't step up and do what you were meant to do."

"What I was meant to do?" Harry choked on the blood that filled his mouth before spitting it out. "Well kill me, since I failed you. Since it was prophesized and everything that is said it true, kill me. Just go ahead and kill me, the only family you have left while those demons you gave magic to are out there killing the rest of the world."

"See," Neville looked up. Chocolate eyes meeting emerald. "I knew you were smart, Harry."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What are we supposed to do, Bobby?" Dean asked as he looked at the page that Bobby had turned to. "What does all this mean?" Dean recognized each of the pictures on the pages as the runes on Harry's arm.

"It means, long version short, if we don't find Harry he's not going to make it if the guy who took him understand what those runes means."

"What do they mean, Bobby?" Sam asked as he pulled the book over his lap and began scanning and listened as Bobby explained.

"The last one is the one I'm most worried about but if Harry can do something to mar the scar then it won't matter."

"Just say it out loud in plain turns."

"If they perform the ritual and have his magic cut off, Harry's going to be drained of his life force and he'll die…" Bobby trailed off and pulled his hat off trying to figure out how to put the next part into words without seeming too vulgar about it.

"What else is there that you aren't telling us, Bobby?" Sam caught the distress in Bobby's movements before Dean had the chance to point it out.

"If you three," Bobby looked up at the ceiling to finish the statement, "swapped fluids, you're connected to Harry. So you're going to be drained right along with him."

"Fuck," Dean uttered before standing up and pacing the length of the room. From the bathroom to the doorway and then from the doorway to the bathroom. "We've got to find him, Bobby. Not because of the fluids things but because we've got to find him and stop all this other shit that's going on."

"Well, see I think I may have that covered as well." Bobby moved to pull out another book. "I just needed you two to know how important it is that you don't screw this up cause I can't have three bodies to burn at the end of the night. You understand? I don't want to burn a single body."

"Got you," Dean answered at the same time Sam nodded softly in response.

"Got myself a nice little ritual that'll locate him, hopefully," Bobby pulled a loose piece of parchment from one of the books in the bag, "but I need some sort of DNA for it to work. One of you needs to get me something in order to get started."

"Why didn't you do this from the start?" Dean asked as soon as Sam jumped up from where he was standing and made a run for a hair brush.

"Because, Dean. This is magic. Not the kind that we know, this is Harry's magic and it probably ain't going to work but it's all we've got."

Dean rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked up when Sam returned with Harry's brush. If Bobby did the ritual it probably wouldn't work if the exorcisms didn't work and there was no way if Dean tried it would work. "Let Sam do it."

"What?" Sam turned towards Dean in shock.

"Just do it, Sam. You and Harry are the only ones who can exorcise those bastards so it makes sense that if you do this it'll work. Just do it, Sam. This is our only chance."

"Okay, what do I need to do?" Sam asked as Bobby passed over the parchment and a pestle and mortar.

"Everything it says, Sam." Bobby nodded as they held their breaths as Sam started the ritual speaking in soft tones of Latin.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Would you stop that?" Neville growled. "You're making this really difficult you know?" Neville brushed a red stained hand across Harry's skin as he restarted the process once again. "It should have taken me five minutes but here we are on the fourth try and I'm still not finished."

Harry flinched as the warm blade dug once again into his skin trying to think of anyway to get out of the room, out of the restraints he was in. There was something that was itching beneath the fire that was coursing across his skin. Neville said something earlier and if he could only remember it might be enough to throw both of them off to get away. As long as it stays in its true form.

Harry held his breath and twisted his body again, intentionally messing Neville up again in hopes that he'd begin higher up than he had been. Neville slammed the knife down on the table in anger before stepping away. "You want to play it this way? We'll do it this way. I'll just go get our friends and they'll have their fun with you before I start the ritual to get rid of you once and for all."

"Should have just stayed still, Potter." Teddy tossed over his shoulder as both he and Neville left the room they had Harry restrained in. There were a few moments of silence and gut wrenching pain before the echoes of footfall grew closer causing Harry to unconsciously shift against the warm table. As soon as the door opened again he saw three men standing with black irises with matching grins on their faces.

"Oh, how long we've waited for this moment to come." Harry froze against the table, ignoring the bursts of pain along his skin and forehead as the demon grew closer. "You do remember me don't you? Of course you do, how could you not?"

"Sounds like a Lestrange but for Neville to allow you to stay in that meat-suit," Harry mumbled as each demon grew nearer to the side table and he heard the distinctive clicks and clatters of blades and different weapons knocking against each other as they were chosen.

"Stranger things have happened. For instance, the leader of the light turning dark. Though I never believed that but who am I to argue when I'm presented with such a fine opportunity such as this?" Blonde hair and brown eyes hovered over Harry's face with a grim smile. "Harry Potter offered up on a silver platter and I can do what ever strikes my fancy."

Harry felt the hair on his forehead being brushed back and a quick intake of breath from the demon above him. "I've heard so much about this scar and I've wanted to see if for so long. I bet every inch of you is blazing from being in this place. Neville turned it into a den of evil, a place where souls are no longer welcome. Not to worry though, you won't have much of a soul when Neville is finished with you."

"I never had much of a soul to begin with, Lestrange." Fading emerald eyes trailed the movement of the blade Lestrange clutched between his fingers as he brought it slowly towards Harry's arm.

"Not one of your own I suppose," Harry couldn't hold back the hiss of pain as the blade dug into his arm and slid towards his elbow, "It always did belong to either Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort. Now, now it was signed away because of some unknown seer in the back roads of Surrey."

"Why'd he give you your magic back?" Harry closed his eyes against the onslaught of pin prickles the slid up and down his left arm.

"There was another prophecy spoken of that night, one that only little ole Teddy heard," Lestrange filled in as he stepped away to change tactics. Harry turned to see him grab a container of something before closing his eyes again and trying to refocus on his magic.

Harry flinched when he felt the brush of hair against his cheek and the next words were whispered into his ear, "Want in on the secret? It has to deal with your Winchesters. I'm sure you do, but first the reason why there are two other demons in here with me."

There were hands loosening the restraints on Harry's wrists and both of his arms were yanked above his head causing him to groan as his shoulder popped in resistance. As if on autopilot Harry started to fight to get lose. He was partially free and this was as far as he was going to get. Harry was rolling and twisting against each set of hands trying to restrain him. The skin at his knuckles broke from the harsh contact of meeting the teeth of one of the demons but he kept struggling.

"This will get you nowhere, Harry."

Harry kept struggling against the demons and felt the restraints on his ankles begin to loosen and everything became white hot, halting his every movement.

"Much better, see?" Harry wanted to curl into himself, to find any position that would stop the fire from shooting up and down his spine. "Now on to your precious Winchesters and that prophecy about them," Harry rolled his eyes upwards watching as Lestrange gazed at the runes on his arm. "Interesting," was the offhand comment before he moved back to Sam and Dean, "Only the forces of evil united with the forces of magic will absolve…"

"Absolve what?" Harry ground out before gasping as Lestrange injected a syringe full of something into his veins.

"See that's the things, we don't know what will be absolved," Lestrange tsked, "Guess that wouldn't have worked anyways if you already felt like you were on fire would it have? Phenergan is what that was, undiluted. Guess we'll have to try something else to make you hurt won't we?"

"He's an idiot," Harry mumbled to himself but heard the laughter from Lestrange at the comment.

"Oh yes, I quite agree with you. If you don't hear the entire prophecy how does he know what we are going to do in the process? Not a smart lad that one is. Ah," Lestrange picked up a pair of needle-nose pliers and grinned. "Now I do know how much this hurts. Old Voldemort did this to us many a time when we didn't do the Muggles right."

Lestrange moved around to Harry's hands and let the pliers drag across Harry's fingertips in anticipation. Harry swallowed and bit down on his lip waiting for the tug and the pain that was about to come. The metal dug beneath the nail and he felt the quick jab of pain before it receded only to be repeated with each finger.

"Just do it." Harry titled his head back and met Lestrange's eyes. "Stop your fucking teasing and do it, or do you have to wait for Papa Neville's orders?"

"You don't want to do that, Harry."

"Do what? Point out how you're just following another person who is lording over you? At least this one is an actual pureblood. The last one was just like me, a meager, abused, half-blood."

"Shut up!" The yell echoed off the walls and Harry grinned.

"Don't think I can do that now, Lestrange. I've been here how long and they haven't killed me yet?" Harry laughed to himself. "I think I've had enough of this. A little too much blood loss, too much hanging out with mad men. I've had enough of this. I've had enough of people sending others to do all their damn dirty work."

"Dirty work?"

"Dirty work? That's all the demons are worth to Neville and Teddy. They want you to kill Sam and Dean for a payout. You know Samael? Well, Samael was killed when he was sent to break the wards down. Samael, the Chief of Devils. Then you, you're here to break me. For what, I don't know. All I know is I'm supposed to pay and from the looks of things I've paid. So be a good little follower and kill me. Just kill me and get it over with so Neville and Teddy can was their hands clean and not be connected to any of this."

"I don't follow anyone, Potter." Lestrange growled out before the pliers dug beneath and nail and tugged hard and Harry bit clear through his lip.

"No, you just bow down. My mistake." Harry turned to see the blood dripping from a fingertip before Lestrange went back for another and he closed his eyes against the pull.

"I do not bow to anyone."

"Yes, you do."

Harry lurched at the fist that slammed against his jaw. He pried his arm free and slung a closed fist at the nearest demon and felt satisfaction run through his chest cooling the flame at the sound of pain from the hit. A pair of hands wrapped around his right arm and Harry could feel the cool steel of the blade digging into his flesh.

"Stop or he will come in here and kill you now." Lestrange cautioned Harry as he pinned Harry back down to the table. Harry struggled against the hold trying to figure out why a demon would be cautioning him to calm down and stop.

"Why does it matter to you if I live or die?"

"Because if you die from his hand, you'll die a much worse death than you could have ever imagined."

"But you forget that I've already died twice." Harry gave one last heave against Lestrange and crumpled against the table as flames engulfed his arm before lancing through his chest.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I've got him," Sam had a hand plastered over his eyes as the images of Harry's location skirted through his mind. "Paper and a pen or anything so I can write this down," Sam held his hand out waiting for the paper and pen to be placed in his hand. As soon as they touched his palm he began scribbling out the names of buildings and streets he saw.

"This isn't helping us any, Sam." Bobby said softly. "These places, even small towns have them now-a-days. You've got to find something more specific."

"Give me a damn second, Bobby. It's still coming." Sam kept scribbling out what Bobby saw as nonsense before Dean yanked the paper away from Sam and placed another in its place before he stood up.

"That's Emerald Creek Road, Sam. I know you've got more, give us something. You have to give us a marker or something that'll narrow it down a little more. We're close."

"Emerald Creek Road?" Bobby questioned what Dean said. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, positive. Why?"

"They're at the shack, where we hold the damn demons. Get your gear we're going and if Sam sees anything else he'll tell us on the way."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I let you in here to settle him down, to get him to stop. Not to let this happen." Harry started to curl into himself at the sound of Neville voice and footsteps approaching. "What were you trying to do? These were let a part by hand. He didn't just get free of them."

"No, he didn't" Harry pried his eyes open and saw the sadistic grin on Lestrange's face as he approached Neville. "But while you so kindly left us alone, I've done some thinking."

"Not the greatest idea in the world, but do go on. What were you thinking about, Lestrange?" Neville folded his arms across his chest focusing on the demon in front of him as Harry slowly uncurled his arm and wanted to cry in relief when he saw the deep cut in the last rune. A chunk of scared skin had been removed when Lestrange gripped his arm in the struggle.

"I was thinking about how you have been acting like we're your slaves but really, we're your equals. If not, your superiors. You do remember what happened to dear ole Mum and Dad. I can make that happen to you, you know since you made it possible again."

"You wouldn't dare," Neville uncrossed his arms and pinned Lestrange with malicious chocolate eyes. "After what I've done for you, allowing you to remain alive in my presence and returning your magic to you. You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Lestrange questioned as he stepped forwards gathering closer towards Neville. Harry tugged at his foot and marveled at the way it slipped through its bindings and repeated the motion with the other. All the struggling did some good at least. "Harry pointed out some very interesting points while you were doing what ever you do."

"He did, did he? Well you do know that he abandoned his people. Left everyone to rot as the Ministry started to drain magic cores, even his own brother's. Now tell me do you want to believe in that?"

"At least he was willing to die for his beliefs." Lestrange pointed out before the room erupted into a flurry of motion. As soon as Harry managed to get it together he slid off the table and tried to make a run for the door but all the pain accumulated up and the drugs they had injected into him had finally met and hit him like a freight train. Harry sank to his knees in the middle of the fray and choked on the vomit that was threatening to spill.

"Lupin, Potter's escaping." Neville's voice was loud over the sounds of the fighting. Moments after Neville shouted the words Harry was back on his feet and stumbling towards the door to be met by the black eyed Teddy.

"Can't have you leaving yet, you haven't even made it to the grand finale. We've got loads more work to do before you can make it out of here. You'll be cold but I'm sure the Winchesters would love to have a body to bury." Teddy raised a hand holding a syringe and Harry shield himself with his arms and Teddy's eyes widened. "No! No, no, no"

The syringe clattered the ground forgotten as an onslaught of blows began to batter against Harry's body and face. "That rune was supposed to remain in tact."

"What are you doing?" Neville growled as he peeled Teddy off of Harry.

"The runes. Check the runes." Teddy pointed towards Harry's arm and Neville spun around and cleared the blood off of Harry's arm so he could see them.

"Who did this?" Neville's head shot up. "The runes were off limits to everyone. Do you know what you've done?"

"What?" One of the demons echoed from across the room.

"The released my magic and put a stop to all your plans," Harry gave a bloody grin from the floor as he looked up at Neville and Teddy. The crackle that had been fighting to be released since it had gathered beneath his skin shot straight at them.

"You are just like they said you were. A dark wizard." Neville began gasping for breaths. "You always will be. Can't do anything but kill. Never should have trusted you."

"You're right, Neville. I can't do anything but kill." Harry snapped. "At least I don't play with what I kill."

"You kill me those demons will still be alive."

"Guess the Winchesters will just have to take care of them," Harry shrugged a shoulder against the hard floor before closing his eyes and the bright light burst against his eyelids. Twin thumps were heard before Harry dared to open his eyes. Harry felt a rush of familiarity rush over him as he took in all the wards on the walls, all the sigils. This place was his, it wasn't a den of evil.

"He was right you know. We aren't going to die just because you killed our creator." Lestrange was standing over Harry, starring down waiting for some kind of reaction. "It was a careless thought on your part to believe that."

"Then I guess I'll die at your hand rather than Neville's," Harry coughed and wiped at his mouth, wondering how much of the blood he wiped away was already there or blood that he had coughed up.

"You'd die with out any help from us," Lestrange titled his head watching as Harry's body slowly furled into itself in pain. "You're almost there aren't you? All the pain and all the memories that you're going to have from this, why haven't you given up?"

"Even if I don't make it out of here, I'm pretty sure I finally found my reason for living." Harry groaned as a wave of nausea racketed through his body and a sudden chill began to form along his skin. Every muscle tensed up before his eyes rolled back and his body seized.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Dean parked the Impala both he and Sam shot out of it like firecrackers to see a bright, green light engulf the entire shack. "Oh God," Sam whispered before continuing towards the shack. Sam yanked at the handle when Dean and Bobby gave him the go ahead and it didn't give. After pushing and pulling and yielding no results Sam turned a desperate eye towards Dean.

"It's just stuck, Sam. We'll get in, in just a second." Dean reassured Sam as he tried the door but after getting the same results he gestured both Sam and Bobby back before kicking it in at the sound of a pain filled groan.

The door burst open and the demon standing over Harry's convulsing body made a run for the door but stopped as if he hit an invisible barrier. Dean went straight for Harry and Sam scanned the room to see if there were any remaining threat as Bobby stuck close to the only visible demon.

Dean rolled Harry on his side as soon as he vomited and waited for the convulsions to stop. Sam turned his attention to the last demon alive in the room.

"What did you do to him?"

"Not what you think," Lestrange turned away from the doorway with his hands in the air as Bobby slammed the butt of the shotgun into the back of his head. "Ow."

"What happened to Harry?" Sam asked again as he pulled out a plastic container of holy water sprinkling it on the demon receiving a hiss of pain.

"Pretty obvious don't you think. They got him here, put a pretty little time slowing spell on the place and tortured him until he got to this point. I wasn't brought in until an hour or so ago." Lestrange answered as he watched Harry slowly come around and focus in on him.

"Still here, thought you'd be long gone by now?"

"Can't get out of this place for some reason, it's like a dome." Lestrange shrugged. "Got any answers to that Boy Wonder?"

"It's where he brought demons like you to be exorcised," Bobby answered, gun still aimed at Lestrange. "Every inch of this place is covered in holy sigils. Surprised you could walk on the ground but all the wards that he put into this place."

"Bobby, we have to get him out of here. We need a hospital or something, everything else can wait," Dean held Harry's shoulder and head on his lap, his jeans already bloodied from the wounds. "This isn't something we can take care of."

"Alright you and Sam get him to the hospital, next parish over. It's the best in the states. I'll take care of this and then I'll meet you over there." Bobby watched as Dean nodded and as he stood on shaking legs. "You going to manage to drive over there without having to put all three of you in the hospital."

"I've got it, Bobby. Sam I need you're help, now." Dean prompted as he bent low to pick Harry up hoping not to jar any injury he couldn't see.

"I'm here, Dean. We're going to get Harry to the hospital and he's going to be just fine." Bobby could hear Sam continuously murmur nonsensical things to his brother as they got Harry out to the Impala before it cranked and they were gone.

Bobby focused on the demon kneeling in front of him. "You got a name?"

"Lestrange, all you need to know about that."

"You kill them or did Harry kill them?" Bobby pointed towards Neville and Teddy before looking around the room and noticing the two other bodies face down in the dirt. "Them too?"

"Harry got them," Lestrange swallowed. "Should have killed me too by the looks of it."

"Yeah he should have, but that'll have to wait until Sam gets back seeing as he's one of the only two people that can kill you. As of right now you're stuck here with me while I clean this mess up."

"Meaning, I'm stuck hoping you don't decided to do what they did to Harry to me?"

"Knew you looked smart the moment you tried to hightail it out of here." Bobby grimaced at the blood that littered the table. "Damn lucky that the Winchesters were too busy worried about Harry."

Lestrange looked back around the room and shuddered at the thought of what the Winchesters could do to him just from what they could just imagine was done to Harry in a short time span. It was enough to send him into convulsion and to a hospital.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything was warm, when Harry started waking up. It was the perfect warmth that made him sigh and dig deeper into the mattress he was sleeping on in hopes of falling back into a deeper sleep. The soft clicks of a machine and the hand threaded through his and the weight across his left leg had him curious.

Slitting one eye open, he closed it immediately from the assault of white. Hospital. If the white didn't give it away the antiseptic smell that just hit him all at once did. Trying again Harry opened his eyes and grinned at the sight of Bobby's feet propped up at the end of his bed, hat tucked over his face snoring. Turning his head slightly, Sam was sleeping on leg, hand underneath the blanket against his skin. On the other side of the bed Dean was watching as cars pulled in and out of the parking lot with his fingers entwined with Harry's.

Harry gave a gentle squeeze and Dean turned his head back towards Harry with a frown of worry before a grin broke out over his face seeing Harry awake. "Hey," Dean's greeting was soft and music to Harry's ears. "You're finally awake."

"Finally?" Harry croaked before Dean grabbed the cup of ice chips and slipping one between Harry's lips.

"You've been out for a few days. Sam was going nuts. He wouldn't go to sleep because he was afraid you'd wake up and he'd be asleep."

"Like now," Harry pointed out and wriggled his leg to jostle Sam awake.

"Dean? He having another nightmare?" Sam sat up and wiped the sleep away from his eyes before looking up meeting Harry's eyes. "You're awake, oh thank God."

"I'll leave you three to have your moment, I'll be back around lunch with some real food," Bobby slid out of the chair and out the room with out another word.

"Nightmares?" Harry questioned the brothers and received silence before Dean awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards Sam.

"That's what everyone was thinking they were. You were just asleep and then all the monitors would go batshit crazy, your heart was pounding, and you jerked around in the bed. The only way we got you to calm down was like the last time, except a more PG version." Dean held up their entwined hands and Sam rubbed a hand against Harry's leg. "As long as we were here you were okay."

Harry looked up at the ceiling and rolled his lips but hissed in pain remembering that he bit straight through it at some point. "I'm okay?"

"Did all the tests they could think of and probably some you didn't need to make sure you were okay," Sam answered. "We made sure everything was okay, Harry."

"Pretty sure we drove all the nurses up the wall," Dean chuckled as he rethreaded his fingers through Harry's and began brushing circles against his skin. "We had to make sure you were okay."

"We couldn't lose you, Harry." Sam said softly before leaning back down next to Harry's leg closing his eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

Getting Harry released from the hospital took longer than expected. The doctors were insistent on notifying the police and Harry was just as insistent that it wasn't necessary which lead to having the psychologist stop by and visit his room periodically for casual conversations with an audience of amused Winchesters and Bobby. In the end, Harry's stubborn nature won out and it was either formally discharge him or he'd be walking out. After Dean made a quick run to the motel to grab a fresh set of clothes for Harry and by the time he got back both Sam and Bobby were watching as Harry paced in the scrub bottoms that they had wrangled a nurse into giving him.

"Everything good?" Dean eyed Harry anxiously. Stitches still littered across his abdomen beneath layers of gauze that stretched when Harry jerked at the sound of his voice. "Got you some clothes." Dean tossed a pair of pajama bottoms and a tee-shirt onto the bed and dropped a pair of boots on the floor.

"You couldn't bring jeans?" Harry complained as he started to slowly pull his clothes on.

"Figured it would be better for the stitches and it's not like you're going to be going anywhere but to bed as soon as you're out of here anyway." Sam explained for Dean as he watched Harry decide whether or not to even attempt putting the boots on. "Here, sit down before you end up popping a stitch and pissing off more nurses."

Sam kneeled and slid socks over Harry's feet before slipping each foot into their respective boot. "Why can't you just let us take care of you for ten seconds?" Sam whispered softly, "You need rest and you need time to heal."

"I'm fine, Sam. I'll be fine," Harry placed a hand on Sam's shoulder rubbing a thumb in gentle circles. "I just need to get out of here and somewhere that I can relax. I need a place where you two aren't going to be staying awake all night just because I can't stay asleep. I need to see that I'm not the only one being taken care of. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Sam gave a quick nod before squeezing Harry's knee and standing up, "I just worry about everything."

"So we're going back to the motel?" Dean asked watching the interaction between his brother and Harry. "Just want to know where I'm going before we all pile into the Impala and get going."

Harry rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked out the window. Did he really want to go back to the motel, even if it was to sleep? Not really. What he wanted to do was to get out of Louisiana and to go somewhere he could call home again. Somewhere that he could feel relatively safe even if there wasn't a safe place to go.

"I think, what we should do," Bobby spoke up from his corner of the hospital room, "is head back up to South Dakota and rest awhile there. It'll be a tough trip with Harry and everything but I think we'll manage."

"What about all his stuff, Bobby?" Sam instantly latched onto Bobby's idea.

"As soon as the paper work is done, me and Harry will head up in the Chevelle and you two pack up his room and give his apologies to Thibodeaux."

"We could do that," Sam nodded in agreement already planning how they could pack everything into the Impala.

"Don't you two want to check and see what Harry thinks of all this before you just pack everything away and haul him to South Dakota?" Dean watched a sheepish look pass over Sam's face and as Bobby just turned expectantly towards Harry.

"Not like you're going to be living there permanently kid, but it'll give you a place to stay and recuperate and decide what you're going to do with yourself." Bobby shrugged as if it didn't bother him one way or another with Harry's decision.

"I just want out of here. I know it sounds weak but I just want to pack my shit and go. I might come back but right now I just want out of here," Harry answered after a couple of moments of a gentle hum of machines filled the hospital room.

"Well, we'll head over to motel get everything together that you want to keep and head out. Sam and Dean can ride up in the Impala and you can ride with me in the Chevelle," Dean moved to argue with Bobby but Bobby ignored him and kept talking, "The Chevelle has adjustable seats, Dean. The Impala is going to hell on all those stitches. We'll take breaks as needed. He ain't going to be as tempted to pretend like he ain't hurting if it's me like he would with you two."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting to Bobby's was more than a trial. The first few hours were okay after they managed to get everything Harry wanted to keep: weapons, a couple of pictures, clothes, and food for the road were all stuffed into the cars followed by pillows and blankets to cushion Harry in the Chevelle. After the sixth hour reclining the seat and dozing didn't help so they stopped and pulled into a motel for the night. It took three days to get back up to Bobby's and by the time they pulled through the leaning towers of cars everyone was exhausted and thankful to step foot on South Dakota soil.

Bobby took a look at Harry's slowing moving progress up towards the house and pulled at the bill of his hat. They should have rested another day instead of pushing it like they did. The kid was hurting. "Come on, I've got a couch that's calling your name." Booby looped an arm under Harry's shoulders and let Harry lean against him.

"Thanks, Bobby." Harry breathed out a sigh of relief as soon as Bobby wrapped an arm around him.

"You're giving those boys out there a heart attack just so you know," Bobby informed the paler than usual Harry as he turned the key in the lock and they both stepped over the line of salt and into the cool house. Harry turned to look back and both Winchesters were watching them.

"Just ready to get out of the damn car, Bobby. I'll be fine after a day or so," Harry sunk down on the couch and was tempted to stretch out but thought better of it with the stitches. "When do the stitches get to come out?"

"When they're good and ready to come out. I need to check some messages, make sure the world isn't ending since I've been saving your asses. Holler if you need anything."

"Pretty sure I'm just going to lay right here and go back to sleep, Bobby." Harry mumbled as he tried to get comfortable and finally settled on lying on his back before hearing Sam and Dean trek into the house and set the three duffle bags of his down of the floor. Cracking an eye open they were both looking at him. "What?"

"Did you take your pills?" Dean asked already moving to the kitchen in search for them.

"I'm fine, Dean. I just need sleep that I can actually stretch out in."

"Uh, huh." Sam was leaning over Harry, "That's why you're paler than usual and sweating when it's coat weather outside. You should have said something."

"Sit down and shut up," Harry slid his legs off the couch and made an impatient gesture for Sam to sit on the couch. Once Sam got comfortable Harry propped his legs on Sam's lap with a grin. "Thanks, now you can stop you're bitching and let me sleep."

"After you take your pills," Dean added handing over a cup of water and two pain killers. Harry swallowed the pills and water down quickly before setting the cup on the floor and cautiously leaning forwards.

"You too, sit."

"Where? There ain't much room with you and Sasquatch taking up the couch."

"Just sit, Dean." Harry snapped and Dean finally sat down on the couch. Harry readjusted so his legs were propped up on Sam's lap and cheek cushioned on Dean's thigh. Dean took a minute trying to figure out where to put his hands before giving up and just running one through Harry's hair.

"Comfortable?" Sam questioned leaning his head back but after a few seconds of not getting an answer he looked over to see both Harry asleep and Dean dozing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning had Bobby striding through the living room and towards the kitchen with the intention of slurping down some caffeine but he stopped short at the sight of the three grown men sleeping on his couch. The only person who looked vaguely comfortable was Harry and Bobby knew that was ever sense of comfort was probably laced with pin pricks of pain all over his stomach. Shaking his head he moved into the kitchen and started the coffee maker wondering how long Harry and the Winchesters planned on staying in South Dakota for.

Harry probably wouldn't be staying for long, Bobby knew that much. Even if he packed everything up he'd end up going back to Louisiana. That was the boy's home and it would always be his home no matter what happened there.

Sam and Dean on the other hand, they were harder to figure out. They'd follow Harry to hell and back. There was no doubt about it. They had that fire in their eyes that John had with Mary. Bobby might not understand the dynamic between the three hunters but there was something fierce there and he wasn't going to get in the way of it.

No, the only thing that would get in the way of what those boys had would be their own stubborn natures. Dean and Sam were always on the move and hunting while Harry was still trying to make his place in this world.

The coffee maker sputtered signaling the coffee was ready to drink and Bobby poured himself a cup and sipped on it as a pair of sleepy feet shuffled into the room. Harry eyed the coffee before sitting down at the table with a yawn.

"You alive?" Bobby asked as he pulled another mug down and filled it to the brim before handing it over to Harry.

"Mhm," Harry answered taking a sip of the black coffee before sighing in pleasure. "Thanks, Bobby."

"It's just coffee," Bobby shrugged but noticed the way Harry fumbled with the handle of the cup trying to decide if he wanted to say whatever was plaguing his mind or not.

"No, thanks for all this," Harry clarified, "For taking the time to drive me up here, for saving my ass, for everything. I really appreciate you doing all that for me."

"I'm sensing a, 'but' somewhere in there," Bobby started scanning through one of the newspapers he had sitting on the table waiting for Harry to answer.

"But this isn't home," Harry set the mug down softly before turning it back and forth in his hands. "I need the time to recuperate. I need the change of scenery but I'm going to go back. I was always going to go back."

"Do they know that?"

"That I'm not going to hit the road and hunt with them? No." Harry stared into the dark coffee. "Am I going to tell them? Not right away."

"The sooner you tell them, the better. You know that." Bobby flipped through the paper and switched the next one when he didn't find anything worth his time and attention.

"Every second, Bobby. Every second." Harry whispered.

"They won't leave you behind. No matter what you think, what ever happened to you before, those two are different. They ain't going to leave you behind. Ever."

"I want to believe that, Bobby." Harry stood up and poured the rest of his coffee down the sink before turning to leaving the kitchen. "But they won't stop. It's in their blood."

"It was in yours too," Bobby commented as Harry left the kitchen.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam watched with half closed eyes as Harry made his way into the bathroom and the shower clicked on. Catching the tail end of a conversation like the one Harry and Bobby had left Sam with more questions than he liked. The main one that was roving through his mind was what the hell were they talking about? What did Harry need to tell them and what made him sound so defeated?

After a moment Dean stood up and with three quick strides he was out of Bobby's house with the door slamming loudly behind him. Bobby entered the room and leaned against the wall, coffee cup in hand. "How much of that you two end up hearing?"

"I didn't hear much but I take it Dean heard enough to know that he didn't like it." Sam rubbed his eyes clear. "Want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Not my place to tell." Bobby took a sip of coffee before taking in Sam's haggard appearance. Yeah, the Winchesters gave more than a damn about Harry. "Just know that Harry, he ain't like you and Dean. He's going to want some place to call his own. He's going to want to go home. Wherever he thinks that is."

"That's what you were talking about? He's worse than Dean," Sam blew out a long breath before glancing out the window to see Dean pacing back and forth. "They're both idiots."

"Yeah, tell me something I didn't already know, Sam." Bobby nodded. "So what's your plan?"

"Figure out where we all stand I guess?" Sam shrugged, "Not much else we can do."

"Best idea anyone has had all morning. Make sure he takes it easy whenever ya'll get to arguing later."

"Arguing?" Sam cocked a brow and Bobby snorted before walking down the hall with a raised mug in salute.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Dean made it back into Bobby's Harry was in the kitchen making lunch humming softly to himself much to the amusement of both Bobby and Sam who were flipping through various papers at the table. "Finally decided to come inside?" Bobby called attention to Dean's return. Harry spun around with a grimace before covering it up with half a smile. "Well I'll just leave you three to talk." Bobby patted Dean on the shoulder before making an awkward exit to the salvage yard.

Dean sat heavily and focused on Harry and how each of his movements grew a little jerkier as he let the room fall into an uncomfortable quiet. "So Harry, were you planning on telling us you were leaving?"

"Leaving?" Harry pulled the frying pan off the burner and onto a cool one before turning to look at both Winchesters who had identical looks of confusion etched across their faces. "Who said I was leaving?"

"You did, if I recall correctly," Dean scratched his head, "am I going to go hunting with them? No. I was always going to go back, any of that ringing a bell for you?"

"Well I'm not living here and I'm not living in the Impala so yeah eventually I'm going to find a place to live," Harry tossed the spoon he had been using in the sink, "but you think you know everything and you think I could just leave you two? After everything that's happened? You ever think about why I didn't want to say anything to either of you or were you just too pissed off to think it through?"

"What would you think if you heard what I heard?" Dean snapped.

"I would take the time to think it through. You had how long out there?" Harry gestured towards the salvage yard.

"Hey, you guys need to calm down," Sam interrupted but it seemed like his advice was ignored completely as Harry and Dean yelled louder and louder at each other.

"Apparently not long enough because all I see is someone who used us up and is leaving us behind."

"Used you?" Harry stood up and ran his hands through his hair, "Used you? Really you think I would do that? What the hell is wrong with you Winchester? Why is everything getting so warped in your damn mind? I never said I wanted to leave you."

"But you are and nothing is getting warped in my mind. I'm just reminding you of what you said earlier." Dean stood up and pushed into Harry's space.

"I think what Harry was trying to say, with out the chick flick," Sam started but Dean stopped Sam with a glare.

"Then you didn't listen to a damn thing!" Harry threw his hands up in the air without thinking and immediately curled his arms back down as he turned away from Dean. "Damn it."

Dean took a deep breath before guiding Harry into a chair and checking his stitches. Even angry Dean couldn't stand to see Harry hurting. "Then will you explain it to me before we do anything else as stupid as you just did?"

"Well," Sam interrupted again, "as I was saying earlier is Harry probably thought since we didn't have a reason to stick around wherever he was that we were going to leave. Am I right? That you don't want to get separated so to speak but you don't want to be on the road constantly."

Harry hissed from Dean's poking and prodding before answering Sam, "Pretty much. Figured you two wouldn't like hanging around one place for too long, so why risk you two leaving earlier then you had already planned?"

Dean rolled his eyes and rebandaged Harry up, "You pulled at your stitches, don't do it again. Okay? And since when were we leaving? Huh?"

"Yeah, when did this happen?" Sam echoed, "You both are coming up with crazy ideas when there really isn't any need for it. What we really need to be focusing on is,"

"If you say what I think you are going to say me and you are going to have a problem, Sam." Harry cut Sam off with a glare.

"Making sure Harry is healed up and everything is okay," Sam finished his thought after Harry warned him against it.

"I'm not fragile and you two don't have to worry about me," Harry fixed his shirt and moved back to the stove to finish cooking but a pair of arms circling around his shoulders stopped him along with Dean's warm voice in his ear.

"We know that you aren't a delicate little flower but we're going to worry about you because, for me, I worry about the people I care about." Dean swiftly let go of Harry and moved back to the table avoiding Sam's knowing look.

"Same here," Sam said softly before the rustle of newspaper filtered through the kitchen with accompanying pops and sizzles from the frying pan.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a month passed them by in South Dakota, Sam and Dean left for a hunt and Harry piled all of his duffle bags into his Chevelle and headed back to Louisiana. Crossing the state-line Harry felt at home again. This is where he belonged. On the ignored, cracked pavement filled with potholes, with the roads lined with trees and puddles. Anywhere else just didn't feel right to him.

What was strange though was that pang in his chest when he was away Sam and Dean longer than a day and it was going on day two. It would probably be the end of the week before he heard from them and longer until he saw them again. Long enough to get settled in the house Thibodeaux had set up for him after a couple of quick phone calls.

The house was a half an hour north of New Orleans and it was perfect. The second his boots sunk into the gravel and the salt from the lake brushed across his skin with a burst of wind, Harry knew this is where he'd call home.

Piling his duffle bags on his shoulders Harry trudged through the mixture of gravel and mud to the door and to finally get a look inside. This was definitely the biggest place Harry would ever live in and it was made of a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Harry immediately sorted out where he'd keep his weapons and started working on the wards before giving in to the growling of his stomach and making a food run. As Harry ate he made a list of things he would need for the house. A television and radio for one. If it got too quiet Harry got paranoid and Harry had a feeling he'd be feeling that way without Sam and Dean filling up the house.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wonder what Harry's up to," Dean rubbed harshly at tired eyes before looking across the Impala and at Sam.

"Probably just made it into Louisiana, we could call him and see?" Sam suggested eyes desperately searching for a motel. After driving all day with Dean and making an impromptu stop to do a salt and burn then hit the road again much to Bobby's amusement had Sam ready to conk out while Dean was driving but two pairs of eyes searching was better than one, right?

"Nah, he's probably tired or unpacking. Let's just wait until morning to call and check up on him," Dean's eyes widened and he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Found one, thank Jesus. Took for fucking ever."

Sam snorted in amusement and slid out of the Impala as soon as Dean had it in park and headed towards the office. As soon as they made it into the room and Dean had the salt line down they both crumbled on their beds. "We're never doing that again, okay Dean?"

"I'm right there with you, Sammy." Dean nodded against the pillow. "Just didn't want to waste more time than needed taking care of things."

"Could have told Bobby to get someone else to take care of it," Sam uttered as he peeled his jacket off and toed his dirt caked boots off.

"It was on the way, no point. Go to sleep Sam, we'll get to Arkansas tomorrow, take care of whatever it is we have to take care of and meet up with Harry at his new digs."

"Good idea," Sam nodded before drifted off to sleep.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry puttered around town for the better part of the day, trying to get oriented with a new place, mapping out all the escape routes what places would probably be better to avoid. After an uneventful lunch at a place called Eddie and the Red Headed Lady's, Harrry decided to head back to the house to see what he could do to occupy his time with.

As soon as he made it through the door his cell started to ring. Plucking the phone from his pocket, Harry stepped over the line of salt and closed the door.

"Hello?"

"Harry? You busy?" Harry grinned at the sound of Sam's voice as he fixed the break in the salt line with the toe of his boot.

"Nope, just got back from lunch trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. What are you and Dean up to?"

"Just made it into Arkansas so in about an hour or so we'll be starting getting all the background info around town."

"Sounds like a party," Harry answered, "What's the case about?"

"Vampire nest," Sam admitted hesitantly.

"Vampire nest," Harry repeated looking upwards asking why him? Before calmly nodding and realizing that Sam couldn't see him.

"You still there?" Sam asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, can I talk to Dean for a second?"

"Sure, you okay?" Sam questioned, waiting to hand the phone over.

"Fine,"

"Okay, I'm handing the phone over to Dean." Harry heard the rustling of Sam's cell being handed off to Dean.

"What's up, Harry?"

"Vampire's nest? Didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?"

"Not my idea," Dean responded and Harry could see a hand lift up off the steering wheel as a peace offering in his mind.

"Just be careful and watch out for each other. I don't want to have to patch the two of you up when you finally make it here."

"You worried?"

"No, not at all. Cause you and I both know that Winchesters and vampires. Nothing to worry about there."

"How do you know?"

"Bobby, just be careful yeah? And watch out for your brother."

"Yeah, yeah. Will do. I see how it is you like him more than me."

"Give Sam the phone back," Harry snorted and heard the rustle of the phone exchanging hands again.

"Yeah?"

"Watch out for yourself and your idiot brother. I don't have a full first aide kit here yet," Harry rubbed a hand across his chest.

"Always do."

"Be careful and don't get bitten."

Harry huffed out a breath and ended the call to look around the house before collapsing onto the couch. Yeah, he wouldn't be sleeping well until the Winchesters showed up on his doorstep. Looking over at his watch Harry rolled his eyes. He really needed to find a job or get a hobby.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding the gun range was a blessing for Harry. It was enough to get him in with the locals when they saw that he could shoot a gun and he could shoot well. Then it was an easy way to pass time which lead to the need to clean his weapons and that lead to more time passing by keeping his mind off of Winchesters getting into it with Vampires.

Packing everything into the Chevelle Harry headed back to the house with the intentions of meticulously cleaning each gun before washing the smell of the gun range off his skin. Pulling in to the circular drive Harry lugged his weapons bag out of the trunk and into the house.

Harry had barely set the bag down on the floor when he heard the tell tale growl of the Impala and the crunch of gravel beneath wheels. Harry used every ounce of restraint he had to just walk to the door and lean against the door jamb waiting for Sam and Dean to get out of the Impala but only Sam got out with a slight limp.

Harry took off down the driveway, "What the hell happened?"

"Not what you think," Sam started before rolling his bottom lip between his teeth and his hand knocked on the side of the Impala.

"Get in the damn house, you're both lucky I decided it'd be a great idea to restock my first aide kit. I'll help Dean in."

"He's just sleeping, Harry." Sam started to protest but Harry shut him up with one well aimed glare. "Fine, I'm going."

Harry looking into the backseat of the Impala and saw Dean curled up and covered in bruises. Pulling the door open Dean jerked away but grinned when he saw Harry standing there. "You are a damn idiot Dean Winchester." Harry extended a hand and pulled Dean out the car and to his feet.

"You smell like a gun range." Dean commented after he pulled Harry into a hug. "Missed you."

"Yeah, missed you two. Now let me go take care of you and Sammy."

They weren't as bad off as Harry originally thought but he blamed his over reaction on the fact that he hadn't seen either of them for days. Harry sent Sam off for a shower before making his lay down with his leg propped up with an ice pack. Dean had a few cuts Harry cleaned up again and rebandaged. As soon as Harry was sure both Winchesters were going to lie down and rest he slipped into the shower himself.

Another positive about having a house, the hot water. Harry grinned as he towel dried his hair. Stepping out of the bathroom Harry took in the sight of Dean looking at the pictures Harry had managed to station around the room. Dean had grabbed the same picture that he had once asked about in the motel. The one of Harry's parents.

"You always have this with you, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's all I have of them." Harry shrugged before sliding into the bed between Dean and the already snoring Sam. "Bobby managed to sneak a new picture for me." Harry reached over the sleeping Sam and handed the frame to Dean.

"How'd he get this?" Dean asked with the corner of his lips quirked up. "I think I would remember if Bobby took a picture like this of us."

"We were exhausted when we first got there." Harry shrugged before plucking the picture of them all asleep on Bobby's couch the first day they made it to South Dakota out of Dean's hand and placing it on the nightstand.

"Go to sleep, Dean. You look like shit." Harry mumbled before curling beneath the covers enjoying the warmth of the Winchesters at his side.

Dean managed to get a couple hours of sleep before waking and he was draped over Harry and came face to face with that photo. It was probably the closest thing Dean had ever had seen that really said how much Harry cared about them. If Harry loved you, he had a picture he always kept with him. Dean looked over to the picture on the other nightstand. The only pictures Harry kept were of his parents and the one Bobby took of them all sleeping.

Unconsciously Dean began to trace patterns across Harry's chest. Running across each scar memorizing each rise and fall in his skin. Dean couldn't imagine half the things Harry had gone through to get some of these scars but the ones he knew he wanted to make better.

"Dean?" Harry sleepily rolled towards him, blinking to clear emerald eyes of sleep. "You okay?"

Dean gave a slow nod before tracing his fingers up to Harry's chin and following the jaw line to Harry's ear and back to his lips. Dean let his thumb run across Harry's bottom lip before slipping closer and breathing in the clean scent of soap and something so wild that Dean could only recognize as Harry. Dean gave a strangled breath before slanting his mouth over Harry's. Harry gasped in surprise against Dean's lips which Dean took full advantage of.

Harry's kisses were something Dean could never get enough of. The way it turned into a blaze of flame and the way Harry chased and teased even after Dean's gentle nips and aggression. Harry shifted from where he was laying and straddled Dean's hips taking over the kiss and leaving feather light kisses along Dean's jaw and neck.

Getting tired of the tantalizing tease of Harry's lips Dean leaned forward with Harry on his lap, lips catching Harry's again as his fingers traced every scar he wished he could take away. Giving in to the need, Dean pulled away from Harry's lips and slowly began kissing each scar he could with Harry still on his lap.

The shivers that each brush of lips against tender skin sent up Harry's spine had Harry leaning his head back and focusing on each touch before a set of lips brushed against his shoulders. Rolling to see Sam there Harry gave a quick grin and his hand reached out to grab hold of Sam's thigh.

Sam leaned closer and captured Harry's lips in a quick bruising kiss. Full of tongues and teeth before moving back to Harry's skin. Sam mapped out each jagged line, each mark that Harry had once been so ashamed of. When Sam found a sweet spot, right below his shoulder blade Harry bucked against Dean's hips and received a moan from the motion and not even a second later Dean was invading his senses again.

Harry ground against Dean again and felt arms reach from behind him and rub slowly towards the top of his pants and Harry froze before fingers dipped past the fabric and as soon as Sam touched him Harry moaned in pleasure.

Harry rolled off of Dean and stared up at Sam before Sam was there again. Hands everywhere that had Harry forgetting how to breathe and Dean's lips would be on his. Harry could hear his blood rushing through his veins as his hands forgot boundaries and his magic forgot limits.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry woke up with Sam's arm over his waist and Dean's arm across his shoulder. A quick glance around the room and Harry saw that the light bulbs in the bedside lamps had busted at some point and no matter how much glass he might be cleaning up later he couldn't help but grin at the thought of how they ended up that way.

Sam woke up next but refused to open his eyes and curled closer to Harry, his breath ghosting over warm skin. Dean's arm tightened around Harry before loosening and Dean tried to extract himself without waking anyone up but both Harry and Sam shifted to look at Dean.

"What?" Dean grabbed the closest pair of sweatpants and thanked God that they weren't Harry's before he made a quick run in to the bathroom and heading for the kitchen to start on breakfast and coffee. Harry stumbled in and sat at the table and Dean fixated on a bite mark that littered Harry's chest and couldn't hide the grin that appeared from the fact that he put that mark there.

"I'd ask what has you so happy, but that's just asking for trouble." Harry raised a brow before he started peeling and orange to calm the rumbling of his stomach. As soon as Dean had breakfast on the table Sam was freshly showered and his eyes trailing over Harry's skin, cataloguing each new mark he and Dean had put there.

As soon as they started eating, Harry set his fork down lightly and caught the attention of both Winchesters. "I made a decision while you were hunting vampires and getting yourselves hurt."

"What's that?" Sam asked before taking a sip of the orange juice Harry had thought ahead to buy for Sam.

"That I'm not staying behind when you two hunt." Harry grinned in amusement as Dean's fork clattered against his plate before he quickly snatched it back up and continued eating. "I figure someone's got to put you two back together and I kind of like being around you two."

"We kind of like being around you too, Harry." Sam chuckled before standing to rinse his plate off and to leave it in the sink. "But you don't have to do this, you know that right? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for both Dean and myself when I say we're going to come back. I really can't see," Sam rubbed a hand over his face before giving Harry a blinding smile. "Okay."

"Plus I got so antsy without hunting it drove me insane." Harry shrugged and finished Sam's thought outloud, "can't see myself without either of you two in the picture anyway."

"So this is like home base?" Dean asked standing to rinse his plate like Sam had before turning to take in twin nods from Harry and Sam. "I kind of like it."

"I'm sensing a, 'but' in there." Sam added somberly.

"It needs more pictures." Dean shrugged, "I'm going to take a shower."

"It needs more pictures?" Sam asked but took in the wide eyes from Harry. "That supposed to mean something?"

"You're brother can be extremely smart sometimes, Sam." Harry stood up to start washing the dishes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Sam?" Harry grinned as he flicked soap suds towards Sam. Harry watched as Sam leaned against the counter thinking before a slow smile appeared.

"Yeah, it needs more pictures." Sam leaned down and brushed a kiss against Harry lips.


	18. Chapter 18

The house was oddly silent by the time Harry ambled through the door a little worse for the wear but still glad to be back. He hadn't expected to come home to an empty house. Both Dean and Sam were supposed to be here but the Impala wasn't in the driveway and all the lights were out. Harry tossed his duffle down on the floor and wiped a hand over his face.

Solo hunts weren't his idea of fun. Not anymore. He had gotten used to Dean bantering back and forth with whatever ugly they managed to find and Sam's aggravated sighs at Dean's antics. Harry had only taken this one because Bobby pushed him to do it while Dean and Sam handled a salt and burn in Mississippi while Harry was working.

After a few phone calls from Bobby and Dean promising they'd be back before he was, Harry decided he could handle getting rid of a ghoul in Morgan City. Harry hated ghouls and wished he had a little more back up but all he had were a few new bruises and sprained ankle. Plus the ghoul population was now one ghoul short.

Harry was tempted to give in to temptation and call Sam to see where the heck they were and when they'd be getting back but decided a shower was the better option. The stench that was lingering in his hair and on his skin was not appealing in the least.

Moving through the bedroom and to the shower Harry couldn't help the grin that stretched across his lips. It was something that always happened when a new picture showed up somewhere in the house. Most of the time it was Sam's doing but this one was pure Dean. Sam took more candid everyday photos but Dean was more thoughtful and sneakier when he took pictures so it was always a surprise when a new picture showed up. They were the memories he wanted to always have on hand.

Dean must have wanted Harry to really see this one. He moved it on the chest of drawers extremely in tune to the face that Harry would be heading straight for a shower and clean clothes by the time he strolled into the house. This picture was one of Harry standing at the stove, head thrown back in laughter and eyes for Sam who was leaning against the counter with a sly grin. Harry would lay down this week's pay saying Sam didn't know this picture was taken either.

Harry pulled out a clean pair of sleep pants and a shirt and tossed them on the bed before moving into the bathroom and turning the shower on. Scalding hot water was all that Harry would settle for as he scrubbed the last remnants of stench from his hair. Squeaky clean and refreshed Harry pulled on his clothes and headed into the kitchen in search of food. After a couple of minutes going through the cabinets Harry settled on a turkey sandwich.

"I lead such and exciting life," Harry mumbled to himself, "I'm sitting at home eating a damn turkey sandwich, alone." Harry eyed his cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table he was propping his feet up on. "I can call. They'd call if they were me."

Harry reached out to snatch his phone of the table before it started vibrating and ringing, "Damn it. Hello?"

"What a way to great an old man," Bobby snorted, "You busy, kid?"

"Nope just eating dinner," Harry eyed the sandwich was distaste. He wasn't all that hungry anymore. "What's up Bobby?"

"You're back early," Bobby commented probing to see how the hunt went.

"Morgan City isn't that far from here and it was one ghoul. I handled it okay after you hand fed me all the info I needed only wounds are bruises and possibly a sprained ankle but I'm good."

"Ice your ankle, you'll have mother hens if you don't. Sam and Dean there yet?"

"Nope it's just me and my lonesome," Harry scratched at his forehead, "I thought they were supposed to get here before I did."

"They're on their way, Potter," Bobby grouched, "And I'm heading down too."

"Do I even want to know what you dug up that has you heading down here?" Harry stifled a groan and sprawled out across the couch.

"Probably not but I figure you boys are the only ones who can handle this,"

"Awesome," Harry grumbled, "So what is it?"

"It'll be better if I explain it when I get there. There's going to be enough questions and I don't particularly feel like answering them all three times."

"Alright so when should I expect your heavenly presence?"

"Tomorrow night, figure I'll get a motel or something around there."

"Alright, that's cool," Harry rubbed a hand over tired eyes, "I'll see you tomorrow. I think I'm going to get some sleep or something."

"Not waiting up for Sam and Dean?"

"They can handle themselves, Bobby."

"Uh huh, well see you soon kid,"

"Be careful. You know we're crazy ass drivers in Louisiana," Harry flipped his phone closed and glared up at the ceiling. With a loud sigh Harry picked up the half a sandwich he had left over and tossed it in the trash before heading to the bedroom. Harry snuggled up under the sheets toying with his phone before giving up and texting Sam's phone. I'm home, where are you?

Harry had started to drift off when the buzz of his phone jerked him out of a light sleep. Two hours out be home soon. Sleep it would be. Harry fixed the pillows and prepared for another restless couple of hours of sleep.

"Dude, could you try and be a little quieter? Harry's probably asleep," Sam whispered as Dean let their bags hit the floor with a harsh thud.

"Sam have you slept any in the past three nights?" Dean growled out but Sam shook his head no, "So you actually think Harry's sleeping?"

"Who knows? He could be passed out from his hunt, Dean." Sam grumbled toeing off his boots and they tumbled against the floor with loud thumps.

"Glad I wasn't sleeping," Harry was leaning against the doorjamb to their room eyeing them, "So do I want to know why it took you two so long to handle a salt and burn when I handled a ghoul in two days?"

"Long story," Dean grumbled already heading down the hallway towards Harry, "Just want to go to bed,"

"Uh huh, glad to see you're so happy about seeing me and ghoul hunting went well. Thanks for asking." Harry rolled his eyes but stopped short when dipped in for a quick kiss that left Harry breathless, "Glad you're home too."

"Yeah, shower then bed," Dean slipped passed Harry and into the bathroom leaving Harry and Sam staring at each other. Harry shook his head then headed down the hallway towards Sam.

"No injuries?"

"Nope but I heard you might have sprained your ankle and you got bruised up," Sam was already taking in the bruises on Harry's arms, "Bruises anywhere I can't see?"

"Ribs," Harry shrugged, "Not a big deal just fell on a tombstone when the ghoul went nutso."

"Uh huh," Sam didn't sound all that convinced but it didn't stop him from cupping Harry's jaw and brushing his thumb across his cheekbones. "Missed you."

"Missed you too, Sam," Harry's eyes followed Sam's quick swipe of the tongue over his lips.

"Next time we're all going. I think I can afford to take some time off work," Harry leaned into Sam and tilted his face up.

"I think we'd all be agreeable to that," Sam leaned down and brushed his lips over Harry's. Yeah he'd be agreeable to being able to do this any time he wanted. Sam wasn't sure why Harry was so hesitant to going with them in the first place.

"It's not the same anymore," Dean mumbled running a towel through his hair, "Not having you with us. You screwed up our dynamic." Dean's tone was teasing and light and Harry's lips quirked in amusement.

"I'm oh so sorry, I'll work on that," Harry patted Dean's bare chest and went into their room, "I'm going to bed. Join me or chat in the hall."

"I'm going to wash the road off real quick and then I'll be there," Sam slipped passed Dean and through the room.

"Bobby's coming down tomorrow. He tell you?" Dean asked before slipping between the sheets.

"Yeah, did he tell you what it was about?"

"Nope, just something big was coming and we'd be able to handle it." Dean rolled on his side and wrapped an arm around Harry, "You okay with that?"

"More than," Harry twined his fingers with Dean's that were resting on his stomach.

"So why did you not want to hunting with us in the first place? Me and Sam both know that if you wanted time off you could have gotten it. Marissa loves you down at the restaurant. I don't know why it's not like you're anything special."

"Of course not," Harry rolled his eyes, "I don't know why I didn't want to go with you."

"I'm pretty sure you do, you just aren't going to share with the rest of the class," Dean snorted and pulled away from Harry, "It's fine as long as you're with us for this one?"

"I am," Harry sat up and looked at Dean before Sam coming out the bathroom stole his attention for a moment, "You two have to stop treating me like I'm about to break."

"What are you talking about?" Sam sat on the edge of the bed in his towel.

"You always stand in front of me when a ghost shows up, both of you like I need to be protected. I got hurt I got better. That's just how it works out but you two aren't letting me do what I normally do."

"This is the part you say you're not a delicate little flower," Dean nodded to himself, "Sorry just can't help it."

"Right well I handled a ghoul by myself and then I took on that vampire a couple weeks ago with out you two. I think I'm fine again."

"Sorry," Sam said softly before dropping the towel and slipping on a pair of boxers and next to Harry. "I'm exhausted,"

Harry hummed in response but looked over at Dean and saw his already asleep and Sam on his way as soon as his head his pillow. Harry waited until they were both asleep before saying the words that had been waiting to burst out, "I'm glad you're home."

By the time Harry woke up, the bed was empty and he could smell pancakes wafting through the house. Padding down the hall and into the living room Harry spotted Dean already cleaning their weapons and Sam was plating whatever he came up with. "What time is it?"

"It would be about noon," Sam answered, "I take it you didn't get any sleep at all the past few days?"

"Not really, why'd you let me sleep this late?"

"We didn't get up until about an hour ago and if Bobby's about to unload a crap load of information on us someone besides Sam needs to be alive enough to take it all in," Dean answered.

"I thought he wasn't showing up until later tonight?"

"He'll be here in about two hours," Sam amended already digging into the pancakes, "Guess he decided to get a head start or he didn't hit as much traffic that he thought he was going to."

"Okay," Harry turned to grab a spot at the table, "You going to eat?"

"Yeah in a sec," Dean finished the gun he was working on and washed his hands before settling next to Harry.

By the time Bobby rolled up the drive Harry and Dean were arguing over the merits of knives and Sam was watching the bantering as he let Bobby in the house, "Hey Bobby,"

"Good to see you in one piece, boy," Bobby grinned and tossed a bag down on the floor, "What are they arguing about?"

"Bickering more like it," Sam chuckled, "Harry's trying to talk Dean into handling more than just the average blades but Dean claims he's got it under control."

"Uh huh, I'd listen to Harry on this one, Sam. Kid knows what he's talking about. Anyways you got any coffee?"

"Yeah just made some. I figured you'd be here soon and we'd need it,"

"This is a nice place Harry got set up," Bobby commented as he walked through the living room and got quick hellos from Harry and Dean before they went back to their arguing, "Homey,"

"You say that like it's a bad thing?" Sam leaned back against the counter after pouring himself and Bobby a cup of coffee.

"It's just not something I pictured for the Winchesters."

"Right, well come on. Let's get this over with,"

"Might take a while to get this over with, Sam."

"Why?" Harry chirped from the living room.

"Because we've got a whole lot of bad coming our way," Bobby scratched at his chin, "Omens are flying all over the place."

"What kind of omens, Bobby? What are they pointing to or suggesting?" The wheels in Harry's head were spinning.

"The kinds of omens that make me glad I know half as much that I do."


	19. Chapter 19

"So what are we talking about, Bobby?" Sam asked leading them into the living room to get settled in for the discussion.

"First I started noticing small things. Just blips on the radar," Bobby started off with a sip of his coffee, "A couple of weather storms without the weather, so to speak, rolling thunder for a few days before it would move on. Then the systems grew into lightening storms, hail storms."

"How did we not hear about this?" Sam tossed the question out to Harry and Dean and got twin shrugs for an answer from both of them before Dean actually tried to come up with something better than a shrug.

"We've been on the road and we got back late last night. Plus we've been working on making sure all the weapons are clean and in good shape," Dean explained with a nod to the spread of weapons across the coffee table.

"Well, you need to be prepared because you've got some kind of crazy system heading straight here and it's not natural. None of the weather has been, especially when you get snow in south Texas in the middle of April."

Harry abruptly stood and headed down the hallway and left the others speaking.

"Where's he going?" Bobby pulled off his hat and rested it on his knee looking between Sam and Dean.

"To check the weather I'm assuming," Dean answered, "So what else has your feathers all ruffled? Crazy weather isn't the only thing that has you driving all day to see our lovely faces."

"It's the way everything is going down."

"Meaning," Sam prompted.

"Meaning that you've got these bitches of a weather systems, lightening storms, thunder storms, tornados tearing through cities but no one is dying. No one is getting hurt, nothing is getting destroyed but it storms for a week and everything clears up. It's like it never happened and people don't remember anything happening."

"People don't remember it? They don't remember anything at all?"

"Nope," Bobby shrugged, "Meteorologists briefly see it, or something, coming and that's if they do. People don't remember anything happening after the fact. Only outsiders seem to have vague recollections of something going on and if anyone goes asking questions, they just seem to up and disappear."

"So how do you know about any of this, Bobby?" Sam questioned.

"Just because people have gone missing, doesn't mean others haven't noticed it or connected the dots," Bobby rolled his eyes, "There are hunters who specialize in things like this Sam. These guys know when to keep their traps shut and who to give the information out to and how to give out the info without raising suspicion of whatever is out there."

"So what ever is causing all the crazy weather," Harry spoke up from the hallway, "Is most likely looking for something or someone? There's some kind of reason behind all of it. So besides Texas, where else has it been?"

"In order?" Bobby looked up at Harry, "The weather started going crazy around Washington. Then it headed east from there. I think it was, Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, and then it hit Texas. Didn't realize what was going on until it hit Texas."

"How long does it stay in each state usually?"

"If it hits different cities? A couple of weeks, maybe."

"And the weather has been going crazy for how long and we haven't noticed it? And none of the other hunters thought to let us know what was going on, so maybe, we could be prepared?"

"It hasn't been advertised, kid and we've been trying to figure everything out. Trying to understand what the hell's been going on here."

"They're predicting strong winds by the end of the week, at least that's what they were saying today" Harry bit into his bottom lip, "So I'm assuming that by tomorrow that prediction will be gone?"

"You'd be more than likely correct."

"Well, today it was enough of a warning to residences to board up windows, clean up their yards and the possibility of sand bags if you live near the lake."

"I see this is going to be turning out just like usual," Dean mumbled underneath his breath.

"Nah, people around here don't do that when hurricanes blow through half the time but I'd recommend parking the Impala somewhere safe."

"You bet your ass I'll be putting my girl somewhere safe," Dean stood up searching for his keys and spotted them on the counter, "So before I jump the gun here, what is everyone thinking this is going to turn out to be?"

"No idea Dean, but it was enough for me to get in a car and down here to warn you three because whatever it is, it's heading straight through here. You might have a few days before anything happens, but there ain't that many miles between here and Texas."

"No there aren't," Harry agreed, "So there hasn't been any damage to the land? Nothing at all?"

"Not a thing," Bobby stood up, "There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary but the memory loss."

"What can do that to large quantities of people, Bobby? Not many things can do that," Sam stood up, running fingers through his hair before he started ticking off the possibilities on his hands, "If you're possessed you don't really remember anything, maybe bits and pieces. Spells are a possibility, which could account for both the weather and the memory loss."

"It isn't the work of witches, Sam. That was already looked into but we didn't come up with anything but a dead end. There were a few," Bobby swallowed down a sour look, "peaceful covens in Washington and Idaho but they didn't have anything to do with this."

"Fine, then. It's not witches who are behind this. What are we looking at? Any other ideas?"

"That's why he's here, Sam," Harry nudged Sam towards the couch to sit down, "Just sit, I'll get you another cup of coffee. You want another, Bobby? Dean?"

"If you don't mind," Bobby handed Harry his empty cup and listened to the only sounds in the house filtered down to Harry's puttering around in the kitchen. By the time Harry had made it back into the living room with two cups in each hand Sam was staring up at the ceiling with is arms crossed over his chest and Dean was tapping his foot impatiently while Bobby was trying to figure out what to do.

"So, we figure out where the weather is and then we head out to see what were up against?"

"That's the general idea," Bobby nodded but there was that unspoken, 'but' each of the younger hunters grasped onto.

"But?" Dean asked.

"But, I don't really think we're going to have to go out and meet the rain so to speak."

"Why?" Sam kicked a leg out to rest on the edge of the coffee table, taking care to avoid the weapons lying on top of it.

"Because for some reason I think whatever it is, it's not just passing through, it's heading straight for you three," Bobby held a hand up when Harry moved to argue with him, "The Winchesters were already a magnet for every evil thing out there, and now with you added to the mix, Harry, it's like you've got a supernatural aphrodisiac going on and it's calling to every supernatural thing out there."

"Great," Dean hung his head for a minute before grinning to himself.

"Leave it to you to find the humor in a situation like this, Dean." Sam smacked him on the shoulder.

"You're grinning too, so don't say you aren't finding this a little bit funny, Sam."

"They're hopeless," Harry groaned and he covered his face, "So what else are we going on? You've got maps of what happened when and where?"

"Yeah but other than that? I've got nothing."

"So you could be making a big deal out of nothing? It could all be freak occurrences?"

"Do you actually believe in freak occurrences, kid?" Bobby stared Harry down for a few moments before Harry cracked.

"Hell no, but I thought I'd try. Now I'm going to be on edge for the rest of the night."

Sam smacked a hand over Dean's mouth and smiled at Bobby, "You have work tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Harry grinned, knowing Sam was trying his best to keep Bobby blissfully unaware of the things they got up to when they were alone.

"Then stay away from Marissa."

"Why?" Harry cocked a brow curious and Sam snatched his hand away from Dean's mouth and wiped a damp palm on his jeans.

"Sammy gets jealous cause he knows you and Marissa get along like peas in a pod."

"Jealous?" Bobby sounded the word out and stood up, "I'll take that as my cue to leave. You got a motel around this place?"

"Two blocks away," Harry answered automatically, "You passed it on your way in."

"Thanks, you boys work this out before whatever shows up does."

"Stop by tomorrow for lunch?" Harry suggested as he walked Bobby to his car, "I'll make something."

"So, who's Marissa?"

"My boss," Harry snorted, "I work at the diner a street away from the motel. In case you get hungry, stop by. Sam just doesn't like the fact that she picks and picks until she gets the answers she wants out of me."

"The motherly type?"

"Definitely," Harry nodded, "If Sam took the time to stop by he'd know better. I think that's why Dean gets a kick out of it."

"Looks like you get a laugh or two out of the situation every now and then if I'm right."

"She's practically eighty, Bobby. And let's face it, after the talk you and I had a long while ago we both know there isn't anyone else that I'm interested in."

"Alright, I'm really leaving now."

"Have a good night, Bobby." Harry grinned at the disgruntled look that settled across Bobby's face.

"Yeah, you too kid and watch the weather. You notice anything strange, get home. Don't try and wait it out and the diner, just get home."

"Okay, and if you notice anything, you head over here?"

"If I don't have to put up with any displays from you three, I think I can manage to do that," Bobby slammed the door to his car heading off in search of a motel.

Work had been uneventful. Marissa did her usual mother hen act, making sure Harry was alright when he breezed through the diner and to the kitchen to switch off with the afternoon cook to take over. There were a few people who came in but Wednesdays were always slow so Harry was out the door by ten and his boots were eating up the ground between the diner and his Chevelle.

The gust of wind that pulled leaves and pine straw from trees chilled the sweat that had been drying across Harry's arms. He stood watching the down pour of greenery before the distinct crack of a branch had Harry shuffling into the Chevelle and pulling out of the parking lot quicker than usual.

Harry dug his cell phone out of his pocket to call Bobby but thought better of it. People around town were talking about how even the smallest bit of wind would cause the trees to fall from the rot. Plus it was Bobby, if there was anything to worry about Bobby would already be at the house with a shotgun at the ready.

Harry tossed his phone over on the passenger seat and sighed, he was over reacting. He had gotten into the habit of doing that lately. Bobby's rusted death trap wasn't sitting in the driveway and the Impala wasn't insight so Harry was thinking Dean took the idea of parking in the detached garage to heart this once. Harry parked and saw the blue white flickering of the television from their bedroom. Grabbing his phone off the seat Harry slipped into the house, taking care not to disturb the salt line at the door and made his way.

Dean was curled on his side on the bed, staring at the television in the manner of there's nothing else to do so I'll lay here and watch this documentary about insects. Harry toed off his boots by the door and pressed a quick kiss to Dean's lips but stayed leaning when Dean licked his way across the seam of Harry's mouth.

"Shower," Harry pulled back and a hand stopped his movement.

"Sam's in there," Dean informed Harry, wrapping a hand around his waist to pull Harry down to the bed.

"Mhm," Harry nodded and dove back in for another kiss ignoring the lust that surfaced with each of Dean's touches and each kiss, "I need a shower and he uses all the hot water. You are more than welcome to join." The last sentence was punctuated with kisses.

Harry ignored the indecisive hum from Dean as he tugged his shirt over his head and let it drop the floor before he slipped into the bathroom. Harry took a moment to admire the way the water slid over Sam's muscles. Harry's hands went to the button and zipper on his jeans when Sam's voice broke over the sound of the shower.

"Plan on starring all night or you going to do something?"

"The plans I have," Harry muttered under his breath as he pulled his pants off and moved into the shower in front of Sam, "Better?"

"Lots," Sam gave a soft smile before leaning down and claiming Harry's lips. The soft smile and the force of the kiss were so opposite in nature they had Harry gasping into Sam's mouth. His hands were slip-sliding against Sam's arms as he tried to grab hold. Harry couldn't tell if the heat rushing across his skin was from the need to breath, the scalding water, or just Sam. His body was saying Sam and his lips needed to taste more of Sam. Pulling back Sam took that option away as he trailed kisses from Harry's jaw to below his ear.

The feeling of Sam's teeth scraping against the fragile skin followed by his tongue soothing the ache had Harry throwing his head back wanting to feel Sam's lips everywhere. Wet open mouthed kisses were left down the column of Harry's throat and Sam stopped to mark the base of it when the door opened and Dean was striped to his boxers, eyes blown wide with arousal.

Harry pushed the shower door open and watched as Dean's boxers joined his own clothes on the floor before Dean was in the shower behind Harry. The shower was small but the feel of skin slipping against skin, the warmth of the water and the fire from each touch made every touch, every kiss heighten in sensation.

Dean's fingers dug into Harry's hips as Sam trailed kisses down Harry's chest, stopping to pay attention to each nipple. Teasing, biting, soothing. Harry tossed his head back against Dean's shoulder from Sam's ministrations and caught the barely there ring of green around the lust blown pupils before Harry angled his face just enough to catch Dean's lips with his. The barely there brush of Dean's lips against Harry's followed by the teasing dance and taste of Dean.

Sam left kisses of flame down Harry's chest and stomach before he stopped at his belly button and dipped his tongue in. The sight of Sam on his knees and the feeling had Harry arching forward into Sam before Dean's fingers dug harshly into his hips and Harry thought better of it and he ground back against Dean.

The loud moan and Dean's arm moving to anchor across Harry's chest to stop the unexpected movement, "Shit."

"Don't tell me to stop," Harry panted out a hand reaching up across Dean's, "Can't stop."

"Don't want you to stop," Dean whispered against Harry's ear and noticed Sam was looking straight up at him from Harry's navel. Dean swallowed, trying to decipher the look in seconds before he gave up and focused on mapping out the taste and feel of Harry's skin against his, "I want," Dean moved back up Harry's neck, "To be inside of you."

Harry dropped a hand to Sam's shoulder and gripped hard and shuddered against Dean when Sam tasted and then engulfed him. The sight of Sam's mouth around him distracted Harry enough from Dean's fingers trailing down his back to the tight circle of muscle before he was working on stretching Harry and searching for the bundle of bliss.

"Trying to kill me?" Harry managed to breath out, knees starting to buckle from the sensations Sam pulled away with a pop and stood with a fluid motion before he turned the water off and his mouth was on Harry's, tracing every crevice and pulling away with a swipe to the roof of his mouth.

"Bedroom, now," Sam tugged at Harry's arm and led the way to their bed. Sam pushed Harry onto the mattress. Harry rolled onto his side, a prize for the taking. Sam made the decision quick and laid in front of Harry, cupping his jaw and licking his way back into Harry's mouth. A hiss tore from the back of Harry's throat and Sam felt Harry's hips move back against Dean's fingers.

Harry propped a leg on Sam's thigh and his eyes widened and his breath halted as Dean pushed past resistance and into Harry. Everything stopped and harsh breaths filled the room. Harry's hands, one on Sam's chest, the other wrapped around the one Dean used to anchor himself.

"I gotta," Dean spoke in harsh breaths.

"Move," Harry nodded, the hand he had resting on Sam's chest started trailing down to the arousal pressing firmly against his own. Each thrust pushed Harry closer to Sam as he wrapped a hand around Sam's erection and timed his strokes with each thrust. Sam threw his head back in pleasure and when Harry's strokes slow he wrapped a hand around Harry's and guided their rhythm.

In a tangle of legs, skin and sweat they came hard and fast. Dean lay panting against the side of Harry's throat while Sam sprawled out across the open space.

"That was not how I pictured tonight," Dean murmured against Harry's skin, still able to taste the salty sweat against his lips.

"Can't say I was thinking this was going to happen either," Sam threw an arm over his eyes before sitting up, "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Harry popped an eye open at Sam's departure.

"We kind of missed out on the shower, but I'm not for waking up a stuck to you a mess. I'll be right back," Sam smiled at a blissed out Harry before he disappeared into the bathroom.

"We should take showers more often," Dean whispered and pressed a quick kissed on the nape of Harry's neck before Sam headed back towards the bed and tossed Dean a wash cloth and quickly wiped Harry clean, and tossed the cloth in the general direction of the bathroom before settling back in to the bed.

Cracking an eye open, Harry wasn't too sure what woke him up this early. It was still dark out and both Sam and Dean were sleeping so that didn't wake him. Taking a second to orient himself Harry sat up and looked around the room. Scratching his chest Harry figured it out. Someone's phone was vibrating on the floor. Slipping from the Winchester's hold, Harry slid to the end of the bed and started checking pants pockets. It wasn't Dean's phone, so it was either his or Sam's which was why it was so difficult to hear in the first place. Checking Sam's pockets his phone was dead so Harry set it on the sink and dug out his phone.

"Hello?"

"You happen to notice anything odd when you got off work last night, kid?" Bobby growled out loud and annoyed enough to finish waking Harry up.

"It was a bit more breezy than usual but I figured it would be okay for the night. Or you know it was me being paranoid."

"Yeah, well it's a lot more than breezy out here now. I'm pulling up outside you mind letting me in?"

"Give me a sec," Harry flipped his phone shut and went straight to the dresser for a pair of jeans and pulled them on as he headed down the hallway. Flipping the deadbolt and unlocking the door the wind pushed it open, sending salt scattering around the room as Bobby barreled into the house. Harry shouldered the door closed and flipped the deadbolt and turned to see Bobby had already disappeared into the kitchen and was returning with a canister of salt.

"Here," Bobby passed it to Harry and sat heavy on the couch, "Now I live in a place were stuff like this is normal but what the hell, kid? I know this isn't normal for Louisiana."

"Wasn't like this when I got home, just breezy, like I said," Harry kept his voice low, "What time is it?"

"It's about four," Bobby snapped, "Trees down everywhere, how did you not hear any of this?"

"Do you hear anything now?" Harry cocked a brow at Bobby. When the door was open you could hear the whir of the wind but closed there wasn't any sound.

"What the hell kind of insulation you got in this house?"

"Heck if I know," Harry gave a sleepy yawn, "You want to try and sleep or do you plan on holding the fort."

"There ain't much we can do right now but wait, so sleep would be the best idea," Bobby nodded avoiding looking at Harry, "I'm thinking you should get some too."

"Right," Harry blushed from the comment, "That's the plan. Come on, I'll show you to the spare room. The bathroom's the first door on the left. Everything is pretty easy to find in the kitchen if you're up and about early." Harry pointed out the rooms to Bobby before stopping, "I thought you said there wasn't any damage to the other places."

"There wasn't," Bobby stepped into the spare room, "Sleep."

"Guess it found what it was looking for," Harry headed back down the hallway and into the bed room. Harry made quick work of making sure each phone was connected to their chargers and all the clothes were off the floor before slipping between warm sheets and an arm wound around his middle.

"Who were you talking to?" Dean spoke against his neck and Sam let his fingers dance across his chest saying he was listening but Harry let the room lull back into sleepy breaths instead of answering.


	20. Chapter 20

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He already had the feeling like the day wasn't going to turn out to be a good one.

"Time is it?" Sam asked, rolling away from the soft light pouring through the windows.

"About eight," Harry leaned down over Sam and stole a quick kiss before Sam snuggled down into the pillows, "Bobby's here so put some clothes on when you get out of bed."

"That's who you were talking to last night?" Sam peered at Harry through one open eye.

"Yeah, I need to make sure the house is okay and then I'll start on breakfast."

"What's wrong with the house?" Dean's sleepy voice broke into the conversation and Harry grinned.

"Hopefully nothing's wrong with the house. Go back to sleep." Harry rubbed a hand over Dean's shoulder before looking pointedly at Sam, "Don't let him walk around in his boxers. I already scarred Bobby enough last night."

"Please tell me you had clothes on." Sam groaned into the pillows in immediate embarrassment.

"Jeans, but that didn't stop him from seeing how possessive you get." Harry squeezed Sam's shoulder before getting out of the bed and grabbing the pair of jeans he chucked off last night before getting back into bed and a clean shirt from the dresser.

Harry moved quietly through the house so not to bother Bobby but the action was pointless. Bobby was camped out at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee and staring out the window. "How much do you love that car of yours, kid?"

"No," Harry shot over towards the window and he could have killed Bobby. The one pine tree in his yard fell and it looked like it landed a few inches away from his car.

"You're lucky, that's for damn sure." Bobby grinned.

"I could murder you for that," Harry shook his head and let out a breath of relief, "The yard is a mess."

"Uh, yeah. You're going to have fun cleaning this up."

"Loads," Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm going to make sure the house is okay and then I'll start on breakfast. You want anything in particular?"

"Food would be good." Bobby answered and Harry flicked at the bill of his cap.

"I figured I'd feed you sticks and pine needles. I hear it's great for digestion." Harry shoved his feet into his boots before making his way outside to survey the damage. He took cautious steps before he stopped and actually took everything in.

Pine needles and leaves littered the grass along with branches that had stabbed into the ground. Harry started picking up the bigger limbs and piling them up in effort to clear up the yard. Harry stood staring at the tree that had fallen and grimaced. It might not have hit his car but it sure as hell scratched it when it fell.

"He's pissed," Dean said into his coffee as he watched Harry staring at the space between his car and the tree.

"Who?" Sam asked as he made his way into the kitchen and over towards the window to see what Dean was looking. Sam bit into his lips when Harry gave the tree trunk one good hard kick. "At least it didn't fall on it."

"Probably scratched the hell out of it with the way he's acting," Dean pointed out.

"He can fix that up quick," Bobby snorted, "It's a pain but the boy put the paint on that car when he first got it and he can do it again."

"I don't think he wants to," Sam grinned at the sight of Harry kicking the tree again before going back to staring at the side of his Chevelle. Finally Harry gave one last kick to the tree on his way back inside.

Harry kicked his shoes off and headed into the sink without looking up and started to scrub his hands clean when he realized he had an audience, "Morning."

"You good now?" Bobby grinned.

"The Chevelle is scratched to hell but yeah I'm just dandy. The house is fine if you're wondering. No damage to anything but the yard."

"That's good." Sam sat down at the table and leaned back in his chair, "So any ideas on what the hell went on here last night?"

"I've got a feeling that whatever has been causing all the weather made it here last night and it found what ever it was looking for." Bobby explained as Harry started shuffling through the fridge for breakfast.

"So that would explain why there was damage here and not anywhere else."

"But what the hell is it, exactly, that is doing all this?" Dean asked.

"No idea," Harry answered as he set about making scrambled eggs.

"Anyone else seeing a problem with this or is it just me?" Dean leaned against the counter looking back and forth between Harry and Bobby.

"Yeah, but there really ain't anything we can do about that right now. Besides research." Bobby shrugged, "And I've been working on that, maybe if you three help out we can get somewhere beside where we are and that's nowhere."

"Have you looked into anything besides the usual demons and junk?" Harry asked over to pop and sizzle of bacon.

"You want to rephrase that boy?" Bobby set his coffee cup down hard enough to grab Harry's attention.

"I'm just saying, in no way intending to offend you, is maybe it's not a demon or what we're used to me. That maybe, we should look outside the box for this one." Harry answered cautiously as he went back to the eggs and bacon.

"Do you have any suggestions as to where we should start looking?"

"Maybe anything that has to do with weather. I don't know I was just throwing ideas out there, Bobby. I didn't mean to put my foot in my mouth."

"I can look into some possibilities but I think I've looked into pretty much everything I can think of and I'm not seeing anything that could do all this."

"Well figure something out," Harry shrugged filling his plate before gesturing for everyone else to do the same, "In the mean while, I'm expected at work in a couple of hours. I might head in early to make sure the diner is okay."

Harry pulled into the diner and looked across the gravel parking lot in confusion. Nothing was out of place here. The ground wasn't damp and there wasn't even a damn pine needle on the ground. Harry pulled out his cell and send out a quick text message for someone to stop by, that something was going on before he headed inside to be stopped by Marissa.

"Now you," Marissa huffed.

"I what?" Harry asked with a grin.

"You shouldn't even be working after cleaning up my parking lot like you did."

"Me?" Harry trained his face to a more serious look than what was probably plastered all over his face. Cause, Marissa was definitely losing it in her age. "I didn't do a thing."

"Then who else would do that? Not anyone else and I sure didn't. Just stop your lying. There's a man asking for you in a booth by the kitchen. I told him you'd stop by on your way in."

Harry craned his neck around Marissa and spotted the bronzed skin and black suit lounging in the booth sipping on a mug of coffee as if he had all the time in the world. "Did you happen to get a name?"

"Hermit or something of that nature. An odd name but he asked for you specifically."

"Okay, I'll make it quick."

"Take your time. People are busy cleaning up their homes after last night. They aren't too interested in food at this time."

Harry nodded and made his way over to the booth and studied the man for a moment, "Excuse me. You were asking for me?"

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter." The accent that flowed with those few words surprised Harry. It was smooth and the English was well rehearsed beneath the European tones Harry couldn't quite pinpoint. "I will only take a few minutes of your time. Please. Sit."

Harry slid into the booth across from the man and felt a gust of breath leave his lungs as he focused in on chocolate eyes. Definitely not human if the surge of energy was anything to go by. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage, you know my name but I don't know yours."

"You can call me Hermes." A hand reached out across the table.

"Good to meet you." Harry shook the offered hand before settling, "What can I do for you?"

"I am in need of your assistance, Mr. Potter. You and your lovely counterparts are the only ones powerful enough to help me."

"Excuse me?"

"Do not play coy with me, it is not an attractive quality in a mortal," Hermes wiped his hands clean on a napkin before meeting Harry's eyes, "I have been searching for someone like you for quite sometime now. Since an acquaintance of mine has gone rouge, actually. Then I stumbled across you, well, let's just say I came across something quite spectacular here in this no-name town of yours."

"Would you mind putting this in simpler terms for me?" Harry requested searching for some kind of clue from the man. Harry was really hoping the small wing tattooed under each of his ears and his name was not adding up to what Harry was thinking. Harry really didn't want to be messing with a messenger for any type of God or Goddess.

"The weather has been quite odd, has it not?" Hermes asked with a grin, "Perhaps I know why all these occurrences have been happening and I need someone a little more powerful than myself to stop it from continuing?"

"I have a feeling I might end up walking into something I don't want to by getting involved in whatever you are talking about here."

"You just may, but you really do not have a choice, Mr. Potter. Neither of us can afford to continue looking for someone a fraction as powerful as you are. Finding you was quite a treat as you are more than I was ever expecting to find in a mortal."

"And if I were to get up and walk away from this table?"

"Then I'd kill Sam and Dean Winchester. Accidents are bound to happen with unpredictable weather, or while they are driving, you understand?"

"What do you want?" Harry felt the anger dripping from his pores from the threat.

"Your assistance. That is all I seek out from you, Mr. Potter."

"What are you, exactly?"

"Ah, the beauty of this situation, you don't have to know what I am. All you need to know is what you are required to do and that you must complete it."

"And what is my task?"

"It's more like what is everyone's task," Hermes gestured for another cup of coffee and waited until he got his refill before continuing, "You are going to need your counterparts to do this."

"What am I going to be doing exactly?"

"You are going to kill a God." Hermes answered as if this were an everyday occurrence.

"You've got the wrong person," Harry made move to stand but before he could blink Hermes was sitting beside him, locking him in the booth.

"No. I believe I have just who I was looking for. It was written out for you to do something so," Hermes waved a hand in the arm as if trying to pluck the word from thin air, "So epic. It's who you are and it's what you do, Mr. Potter."

"It's Harry and what do you mean that's what I do? I don't kill people. No thanks. Enjoy the rest of your coffee and have a great day." Harry tried to shove Hermes out of his way, but failed and went for his second option of slipping beneath the table to make his exit.

"Did I say you could leave yet, Mr. Potter? I think not." Hermes had a firm hand on the back of Harry's shirt, "And yes, killing is what you do whether you label it that way or not, doesn't really matter all that much."

"I don't kill for fun, Hermes. I never have and I don't plan on starting anytime soon. I do what is necessary to save lives. Is this going to be a necessary act for human kind or just for your kind?"

"Oh you are smarter than you look." Hermes grinned, "Ares would like you, if he didn't already." Hermes chuckled to himself before continuing on, "You were made for tasks like this one. It is what you strive for and you can not deny the anticipation of hearing what I have to offer you."

"What is it?"

"That's the spirit." Hermes drained the last of his water, "A brother of mine, Shango, has gone rogue. Hence the crazy weather that has been plaguing this lovely country that you have, for some god forsaken reason, decided to call home."

"Okay, I need more than your word of just a rogue brother. How do I know you don't just have a grudge and something else isn't at play here?"

"He's lost, and there isn't anyway for us to save him," Hermes said softly as he set the mug down on the scarred table. Harry watched the mask of indifference shift and crumble before the wall built back up. "We've cleared the memories of thousands of people. You know what we've done to cover up his mess. Your hunter friend, Bobby I believe his name is, knows the lengths we've gone through to hide everything. I've tried talking with him but the best I can do is follow him and even for me, that isn't easy."

"So you're behind all the memory lapses and cleaned up the damage?"

"We are what are behind the cleared memories but he hasn't left damage anywhere but here. That is why I am here speaking with you."

"Because you don't know what he's going to do now that he's stopped."

"That and he's barmy out his mind." Hermes grinned for a moment but the uplifted corners of his mouth shifted into a frown. "We can't risk it. We get enough for the multiple deity worship and now, with whatever he's going to do? I got my order from the higher ups, I tracked him and I searched for someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Oh yeah," Hermes grinned, "You've got potential. You and the Winchesters but you aren't supposed to know about that right now. It's supposed to be a secret, but if you help us out maybe I can accidently give the message to the wrong person."

"How am I, a mere mortal might I add, supposed to kill a crazed God?"

"You'll be surprised by what you already know, Harry."

"I need some time and I need to talk to some people." Harry ran anxious fingers through his hair before chancing a glance at Hermes, "Shit."

"Wondered when it would hit you," Hermes clapped Harry on the shoulder, "Go and talk to Sam, Dean, and Bobby. See if they think I'm the real deal, yanking your chain or what. You need to make a decision quick though because whatever has him stopped in this town is probably you three."

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked as Hermes piled a few bills on the table top and stood.

"You shine like beacon to us," The messenger shrugged and scratched at one of the inked wings below his ear, "We knew you were powerful before but now with the Winchesters, its like when we're down here it calls to us. He will approach you and that's you best chance of killing him."

"How do you know I will agree to this?"

"You will," Hermes tapped a shiny shoe on the floor, "You'll think about what will happen if you let Shango continue on his path of destruction and you'll realize if someone like me is reaching out for help then its really needed." Hermes tipped his head down in a gesture of goodbye.

"How can I get in contact with you if I decide to go along with this?"

"Please," Hermes rolled his eyes, "You do know who I am, right? I'll find you, no worries."

"Right," Harry nodded to himself before wiping a hand over his eyes.

"Oh and you're welcome for cleaning the parking lot. I figured it might be easier to talk to you if you didn't have to worry about that. Tell your boy hello for me." Hermes gestured towards where Dean was leaned against the counter watching.

"Uh huh," Harry watched as Hermes headed out the diner and he sat hard back in the booth. This wasn't exactly what he was expecting to encounter when the weather went crazy. Maybe a demon, or a elemental of some kind. But a God gone crazy? No, definitely not. He was not equipped to handle things like this. Humans weren't equipped for anything like this.

"You feeling okay, peaches?" Marissa asked as she sat down across from Harry in the booth.

"I'm fine," Harry nodded.

"Oh, aren't you a popular one today," Marissa grinned. "You sure you want to stay today? I'm sure me and the girls could handle it until Jo comes in."

"Hey, you busy?" Dean asked with his hands shoved deep in his pockets in effort to quell his nerves.

"He was just about to head on home." Marissa supplied as she got up from the table. "No arguments, its dead in here and you look like something important just happened."

Harry nodded and looked up at Dean, "So you wouldn't happen to know how to kill a God by chance? Would you?"

"You might want to explain that one in greater detail and with Sam around if you're actually being serious about that."

"Yeah, I was thinking along those lines too." Harry got up and started to leave but Dean's hand on his arm stopped him.

"So what did you want us to check out?"

"It's not really important anymore but did you notice how the diner was the only place cleaned up?"

"Yeah, I thought it was a bit odd but I figured someone did it for Marissa."

"Nope, that was all Hermes. It'll make more sense when I tell you everything he told me but he cleaned up the parking lot as a courtesy pretty much."

"The messenger to the Gods cleaned up a parking lot just to be nice?"

"Uh huh, you won't think he's so nice in a little while." Harry mumbled over the roof of his Chevelle.

"Right, meet you back at the house and then you can fill me in on everything that's going on."

~!~

"Hermes?" Sam sat at the table, hands poised over the keyboard of his laptop gob smacked. "Like the actual Hermes?"

"Uh, as excited as you seem by this you won't in a few minutes Sam." Harry rubbed at his stomach to soothe the anxiety building up.

"What's got his feathers ruffled?" Bobby asked as he strolled into the kitchen.

"He met Hermes." Sam answered.

"Like, wings on his shoes or on a helmet, Hermes?"

"Tats on his neck more like it but yeah, still has the little wings and all." Dean snorted.

"What's he doing down here and what's he want with you?"

"He wants us to kill a God, you wouldn't happen to have a blade or a ritual in that handy dandy trunk of yours that could take care of matters for me."

"You mind clearing that up for me, kid? Cause you can't just kill a God like you can kill a demon or get rid of an angry spirit. I don't even know if it's possible to kill a God. Tell me everything he told you."

Harry launched into the retelling of everything that occurred at the diner and Dean added in what he over heard towards the end.

"Sounds like you don't have a choice in the matter, kid." Bobby scratched at his chin before looking up at Harry, "Can't keep you three out of trouble if my life depended on it."

"Sorry." Harry offered.

"You have any idea who Shango is?"

"I figure he's got something to do with weather."

"You've got that right and if he's gone rogue and you three have been elected to stop him we better get to working on figuring out how to stop him."

"So we're just stuck." Dean asked.

"Yeah, you are. You don't mess with Gods, Dean. If Harry would have outright refused at the diner he would have been killed."

Harry grimaced when the thought of what Hermes threatened came to the front of his mind. If he would have just said no, Sam and Dean would have died not him. Bobby must have realized Harry had been quiet for too long.

"Or, Hermes threatened someone else."

"Does it really matter?" Harry glossed over who was threatened and who wasn't, "All that matters is we need to stop Shango before he finds whatever he's looking for otherwise we're all in trouble."

"I'm agreeing with Harry on this one." Sam spoke up from his laptop. "If he's stopped here, and that's what it's looking like because there isn't any crazy weather anywhere else, then he's looking for something here. When he finds it, who knows what's going to happen."

"So we figure out how to kill a God, gank him, and the world can drink and be merry again. Great, this should be easy." Dean groused.


	21. Chapter 21

Bobby stared at Dean for a second before looking over towards where Sam and Harry were trying their best not to smile or laugh at Dean's words. "This really ain't a laughing matter you three."

"I get that, Bobby, I do, but what do we really know about Shango? Vague references? All I know is he's supposed to be a God of Thunder. We're kind of stumbling around in the dark here." Harry sat down on the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. "We're in the dark and like you said, you can't refuse a God."

Harry shifted under Bobby's unwavering gaze before Bobby pulled off his hat and looked over to Sam. "You and your brother need to head over to the library, get as much information as you can about Shango and Hermes. Harry and I need to have a little conversation."

"No, two sets of eyes might be better than one." Harry protested.

"I should find that insulting," Dean scratched at the back of his neck as the edge of his ears grew red.

"But for some reason you don't." Sam leaned his head back to grin up at Dean, "Come on, let's go. The more information we have the better prepared we'll be."

"Then why isn't Harry coming with us?" Dean asked as he and Sam headed out the door.

"Because it obvious there's something Bobby wants to talk to Harry about," Sam answered cuffing Dean over the back of the head. "How you haven't died yet is a miracle."

Harry sat on the couch watching Bobby until the growl of the Impala started and disappeared out of the driveway. Bobby eyed Harry for a moment before heading into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and returning to sit across from Harry. "Hermes didn't threaten you. Did he?"

Harry swallowed down the anger, the fury, at the thought of someone threatening to hurt Sam or Dean before he shook his head no, "Bobby, we can't mess this one up."

"What if this is all a sick game they're playing? Did you stop to think about that?"

"There isn't any other option for me!" Harry stood up, looking at the door, "I can't say no even if I wanted to. I can't afford that luxury."

"You already said you were going to do it, didn't you?" Bobby rubbed a hand over his eyes. "You just jumped in without knowing anything about any of this. We don't even know how to kill him and you told Hermes you'd do it? We don't know a damn thing about this guy, if what we're doing is right and you're going to do it."

"No, I didn't say I'd do it, yet. I'm not stupid, Bobby. Despite what can happen if I don't agree, I had to talk to everyone first. It's not just me that is involved in this, Bobby. It's Sam, Dean, and my self that has to kill Shango. I don't answer for all of us. There's something more to this than we're being told."

"So what's going to happen if you say screw it and you don't kill him?"

"You're not going to let up on this, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Bobby admitted, plucking at lint on the bottom of his shirt.

"I live and they die." Harry answered wrapping a hand around the back of his neck before he looked up to lock eyes with Bobby. "So if you ask me if I'm going to do this? Whether or not Hermes is telling the truth? I think you already know the answer."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what's with the covert operations back at the house?" Dean asked as he pulled into the parking lot at the library.

"You remember what Bobby said earlier?" Sam asked as he unfolded himself out of the car, pausing on the steps thankful for the calm weather.

"Uh, which part?" Dean asked, face tilting towards the breeze fluttering through the trees as they stood in the heat.

"About you don't refuse a God because they'll kill you if you do. That part."

"Yeah, it rings a bell. What about it?"

"I almost positive that Hermes didn't want to kill Harry," Sam pushed his hair back out of his face before looking pointedly at Dean, "I'm pretty sure Hermes told Harry he'd kill us if Harry didn't kill Shango for him."

"What the hell?" Dean slammed a hand down on the hand rail and grimaced before shaking the pin needles away. "I guess that was one way to make sure Harry would do it."

"My thoughts exactly, we should head inside and get as much research done as possible and get back before they do something stupid."

"Alright Geek Boy, lead the way." Dean followed Sam through the stacks and straight towards the section containing mythology. Dean waited patiently as Sam handed him book after book before heading over to the table and he started aimlessly flipping through one of the books while Sam went back to the shelves for more. "How many books do you need?"

"You just find and mark sections about Hermes," Sam pushed over a loose piece of paper, "It should keep you occupied and not too bored. If you're feeling overly ambitious you could read."

"If you're feeling overly ambitious," Dean mocked Sam but started going through the index of each book to locate small passages and larger chapters easier. After about half an hour of marking Dean looked up to see Sam had filled out enough of a notepad that it was time for a coffee break. "I'm going to get some coffee. Your Hermes information is all marked and ready to be deciphered."

"Thanks," Sam looked up after a second before going back to what he was reading barely registering the fact that Dean had gotten up and left.

Everything Sam read about Shango left him with more questions to be answered and a rising sense of fear. This was a God that wasn't meant to be messed with, that much was clear. All the references confirmed that he is the God of Thunder and Lightening, also known as the Sky Father. He had ceremonies that are still followed and based after him in modern day societies. He was supposed to represent swift and balanced justice, so what happened to make a whole army of Gods want him dead?

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Sam blinked up at the dark skin, and the melodic accent.

"Ah, no," Sam attempted to pull his books and notes to one side of the table, "Go ahead."

"Your notes aren't in my way. You could have left them there. I only want to read," The man gestured with a flimsy paperback as he seated himself.

"Just let me know if I start muttering out loud. I try to control it but I get lost in the research sometimes." Sam admitted sheepishly before looking back down at his books.

"It shouldn't be a problem but I'll let you know if you bother me."

Sam had all but given up on researching Shango at the moment and decided to switch over to Hermes. He began the tedious task of piling the books that were going back onto the shelves and the ones he'd look over again in a little while when a smooth hand shot out and tapped at a passage. "That one there, it would be a useful passage to make note of. If you really are researching him."

"Uh, thanks?" Sam glanced down at the page and really wished he wasn't alone at the moment, but maybe it was a good thing. Sam took in the picture and sighed. With out the head dress and the modern clothes this book was pretty accurate. For once. Sam slid back in his chair, trying to map out the quickest exit route.

"So why are you researching me, Mr. Winchester?"

"It's a hobby of mine."

"Really?" An elegant brow rose up and his lips tilted upwards in amusement. "And this hobby of yours, it usually has to do with hunting things, does it not?"

Sam sat frozen before he found himself just going with the truth. It was usually easier to keep track of, "Yeah, normally. This stuff," Sam gestured to the books, "Has always fascinated me though. There's something about the way the weather can be explained by a God, or good crops could be attributed to a Goddess."

Sam shift uncomfortably beneath the watchful eyes and the hum of agreement from Shango. "Who else have you marked to research?"

Sam didn't get a chance to answer before one of the books were plucked across the table and opened to a page Dean had marked. Sam watched the soft features of the God turn harsh and unforgiving before he almost too quietly shut the book and looked up, "So he has located me?"

"Um,"

"Just answer me, Sam. We both know I could kill you if you don't or if you choose to lie. So he's found me, or he's been tracking me?"

"He's been following you," Sam answered hurriedly, regretting the fact he gave in so easily.

"And he's approached you." Shango looked up before shaking his head and pushing the book over towards Sam, "Typical. He can't do his own dirty work. The little rat never could, always depending on mortals like you."

"Like me?"

Shango looked up in surprise before his eyes lit up, "Oh what this little town has in storage. He didn't approach you but perhaps your brother?"

"I haven't met him." Sam said, not wanting to answer the question.

"Oh, I get what was so attractive about this place. There's three of you isn't there? All wrapped up with a neat little bow on top. It only happens every once in a long time but once it does, on of you have the power to knock one of us off and I've been the one they want to kill. Did you happen to get a reason or did the person you're protecting just go with it?"

"You need to leave, Sam." Both Sam and Shango looked up and Sam realized instantly who he was looking at. "And Shango, it's always a pleasure seeing you."

"I wish I could say the same, but I hear you're trying to kill me and you've found the only people capable of doing it. Do you know why you're so special, Sam?"

"Now isn't the time." Hermes bit off.

"It really is, because they deserve to know why the Gods have chosen them."

"They haven't been chosen."

"They have if you've chosen them to kill one!" Shango beat a fist against his chest.

"You don't even realize what you have done!" Hermes yelled loud enough for Sam to cringe, "You have killed and torn apart homes. You have lost your mind and I've tried everything to get you back but nothing will work."

"You don't understand anything."

"No you don't understand, Shango. You don't understand a damn thing. You could have gone back at any time, but you didn't. You knew I was following you and that I have been following you since you started this mess. I have followed you from one end of this country to the other, and I have tried so many times to get you to stop. But it's come down to the point that you can't go back and you're stuck. Which is entirely fault because I have tried to talk to you, to reason with you, but there aren't any more chances for you and you don't seem to realize how hard this is for me.

"I'm the one that I had follow you and your destruction. I had to be the one who found the people who will eventually kill you. So I understand, Shango. I understand more than you would like to think."

"They killed her."

"And now they're going to kill you for what you're doing."

"No."

Sam felt the temperature in the room shift and saw the violence in Shango's stance before the God acted. A gust of wind had books flying off the shelves as Sam threw his arms up over his head to shield him self as he ran towards the exit.

"You don't get to leave," The once soothing and melodic voice shook Sam to the bones with its wrath and power, "Not until I'm done with you."

Sam huddled off behind a circulation desk and listened as more books smacked against the floor followed by the crack and groan of desks connecting with each other and skidding to a stop. A pair of black shoes came into view and Sam looked up.

"You're going to do me a favor, Sam Winchester." Sam swallowed against the fear that was rising in his chest and met the fury in Shango's eyes. "You will do what I want of you because we have more in common than you think."

"He's not going to do anything for you," Hermes panted out as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "He's already spoken for."

Sam felt a hand reach out to grip his arm but he shuffled back into the arms of Hermes. He was wrenched back and forth as Shango gripped the tails of Hermes' coat tight and yanked him back and Hermes fought to get free. "Hold on, Sam. I'll get you out of here."

They were a few feet away from the door when Sam fell to the floor, he scrambled towards the door and a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders yanking him up to his feet and he was out of the library and next to the Impala by the coffee shop.

Sam grimaced against the dirt that kicked up from the wind and the lightening that lit up the sky. "You see what he's like. You know what he capable of. Make your minds up quickly because he'll find you and he will kill you all."

"Why are we the only ones who can kill him?" Sam asked, even though the hackles on the back of his neck said not to push it. To let Hermes go but he had to know why they were the only ones who could do this.

"You're so special because of blood that's running in your veins, Sam. You might think it's a curse but it is a blessing. You have the blood of a warrior and you share one of the rarest bonds in the universe. The amount of power, the amount love, and the way each of you would sacrifice your selves for each other, that is only a dream even to the Gods."

"You should go," Sam rubbed at his shoulders from where Hermes grabbed him up, "No point in leading him to us any faster."

"I'll find you, but I can't do this. He is more than I can handle."

"Then how are we supposed to kill him?" Sam kicked at a tuff of grass that rolled to a stop in front of him before the wind stole it away again. "We're human and you aren't. Look at you!"

"You shouldn't under estimate yourself Sam, and you shouldn't underestimate your brother or Harry. The three of you together are damn near impossible to stop."

Sam made to argue but the Messenger was gone and Dean was next to him poking at prodding at his chest. "What the hell happened to you? You can't be left alone in the library without getting beat up? And what's with the weather? It's like Armageddon rolled in while I was getting caffeine."

"Uh, let's get back to the house. We definitely need to talk to Harry and Bobby." Sam moved around to the passenger side of the Impala and sat down with a grimace. Immortals really didn't know their strength. "And I didn't get beaten up."

"Right, you just look at yourself when you get back home, Francis and you tell me if you got beat up or not. I didn't know libraries were this vicious."

"Actually, I don't think there's much of a library left."

"What?" Dean looked over at Sam, half tempted to stop the car but decided letting Harry deal with the situation would be better. "Never mind."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell happened to you?" Harry asked, already moving across the living room over towards the doorway to where Sam and Dean were standing, "And why do you look just fine?"

"Hey, I went for coffee and he showed up like that."

"Should have kept your mouth shut, boy." Bobby muttered.

"Ran into some trouble down at the library," Sam titled his head trying to figure out what Harry was doing with his shirt. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out how your shirt got ripped at the collar. Want to explain what exactly happened at the library and why you've got bruises the size of hands on you?"

"Mind if I change first?"

"Go for it," Harry waved Sam off and waited until Sam disappeared down the hallway before rounding on Dean, "So, you went for coffee?"

"How was I supposed to know something was going to happen?" Dean already had his hands up in the air.

"Something always happens," Harry answered heading into the kitchen, fixing ice packs for Sam's shoulders. "He tell you anything on the way back?"

"Nope but I have a feeling it has to do with our good pal, Hermes." Dean propped a hip against the counter top as Bobby pulled out a kitchen chair and sat. "Saw him talking to Sam before walking out to the Impala."

"So it's a good bet to say that Shango is in town?" Harry asked.

"He is," Sam answered sitting next to Bobby, "And I hate to say it but he's messed up."

"He did that to you?" Harry wrapped the pack around Sam's shoulder, tying it off and ignoring the shiver that Sam gave off.

"No, that was Hermes as he was saving our asses," Sam leaned back into the chair with closed eyes and a sigh.

"All right, so what the hell happened?" Dean asked after a couple minutes of silence filled the kitchen.

Sam opened his eyes and started to explain everything, leaving nothing out but what Hermes told him outside the coffee shop. That was something he would tell Harry and Dean later on without Bobby in the room. After he was finished speaking Harry stood up and started digging around in the refrigerator.

"What are you doing?" Sam watched as Harry started pulling pots and pans from the cabinets.

"I'm thinking, Sam. Plus we need to eat dinner at some point tonight and I'd rather not go and pick something up again, so I'm cooking."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think before you decide on anything," Bobby interrupted, "That Harry should tell you both what Hermes told him if you didn't kill Shango."

"Does it really matter?" Dean asked, "It's not like we have a choice now. Do we?"

"Not really." Sam commented, "Hermes can't do it. I don't think any other God cares enough to take care of the situation. At least that's what I took from it. So it's let him go on being insane or you know."

"But you can't fail."

"If we do, what's going to happen?" Dean tapped his fingers on the table, uneasy with the tension between Harry and Bobby. "Harry?"

"I think," Harry poured olive oil into the pan and let it heat before tossing in onions and bell peppers followed by chicken, "That we're going to have to kill a God. Even if we have no fucking clue how to do it. We have to kill him because we can't afford not to."


	22. Chapter 22

Dean sat at the table fiddling with his drink trying to figure out what exactly Harry meant by, 'we can't afford not to' before the curiosity started to bother him. He looked over at Bobby and could tell that Bobby wasn't too happy with how Harry answered the question so there was more to this than what Harry was telling them.

"We're going to need a better explanation than we can't afford not to kill the guy." Dean spoke with a harsh enough tone Sam's head snapped over towards him and he winced from the quick movement. "You keep beating around the bush and I'm getting a little tired of it."

Dean watched as Harry finished what he was cooking and setting it on a plate before he looked at both he and Sam. "If we don't do it you both die. Are you happy now?"

"Oh," Dean nodded, "That's just great. Now you're telling us?"

"I told you it was probably something like that earlier, Dean." Sam mumbled beneath his breath and got a sharp kick to the back of his leg for speaking.

"Obviously you already figured it out so what does it matter who you heard it from or when you found out about it?" Harry shot back before slamming a plate down on the counter. "Well shit, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well how did you mean it?" Dean barked out and Sam slowly edged away from the table.

"Bobby, you might want to hide out for the rest of the night. They get a bit explosive." Sam warned.

"I can see this." Bobby took a step back from the kitchen and towards the wall.

"I needed to step back and figure things out." Harry started to explain but smacked a hand over his face as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"Oh, and what about that agreement we made a long time ago?" Dean pushed away from the table, "You, me, and Sam. No heroics, we all work together? What about that? Is that not on the table anymore?"

"I fucked up! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? I wanted to understand what was going on, to know what we were up against before saying anything because I was scared." Harry shook his head and fled the kitchen heading for the bedroom and slamming the door loud enough it echoed through the house and into the kitchen.

Dean took a deep breath before smacking a closed fist on the table and he followed after Harry muttering, "So I'm the bad guy now?"

Bobby looked at Sam for a moment before pulling his hat off with a wry grin, "Should I head out for the night? Cause I do like to get my sleep."

"Bobby," Sam felt his cheeks go red, "Please don't ever suggest something like that again. At least not while I'm around, okay?"

"Shouldn't you be checking on them or something?" Bobby asked listening to the muffled voices that echoed down the hall.

"I'm not getting in the middle of that," Sam shook his head. "That argument was between them and I'm not going willingly put myself into it. They'll work it out in a few minutes then they'll come walking right back in here and act like nothing happen."

"If you say so."

Harry moved through the hallway and slammed the door by accident as he collapsed against the cool sheets of the bed with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed. He covered his eyes trying to take calming breaths before he did something more than yell or cuss at Dean. Harry wasn't angry at either of them. It was more like he was scared at what could happen. They didn't know anything about what they were up against. None of them had a clue as to what they were doing and he could lose everything, so of course he didn't want to say anything.

Harry really needed five minutes free of monsters. Five minutes of nothing life threatening to just step back and breathe. Harry startled when a warm hand rubbed across his chest.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me come in." Dean sat down on the edge of the bed next to Harry.

"It's fine. Just a little lost in my thoughts." Harry sat up and brushed his hands over his thighs. "Sorry I yelled at you in there. It's just I wanted to figure everything out, but it wasn't because I trying to be a hero, Dean. I did it because I was worried. I mean what would you have done if someone said you had to do something or the two people you cared about the most would be killed?"

"We both know what I would have done." Dean snorted before nudging Harry with his shoulder.

"Yeah you wouldn't have bothered trying to figure anything out without saying, 'sure, why not.'" Harry rolled his eyes. "And that's what I was trying to do, even if in the end we don't have a way out of this."

"Did you really think there would be one?" Dean asked looked around the room trying to figure out a way to make the situation less uncomfortable.

"No, but I was really hoping Sam might find some kind of loop hole rather than getting the shit beat out of him and tearing down a library in the process." Harry grinned when Dean started laughing.

"Only Sam could manage that one." Dean wrapped a hand around the back of Harry's neck and rubbed his thumb at the base of Harry's skull. "Come on, let's get back in there before they think we've killed each other or Bobby scars Sam for life."

"I'd rather stay in here," Harry sighed.

"You really shouldn't say things like that when you're on a bed and we've don't have time to do things I would love to do." Dean tugged Harry up off the bed and towards the door.

"That is not a convincing argument, Dean." Harry bumped shoulders with Dean as they headed back towards the kitchen.

"Everything sorted out?" Sam asked with his hands folded together over the table.

"Sure," Dean shrugged. "Harry just needed someone to yell at and you're too pretty."

"Oh thanks," Sam rolled his eyes and Bobby cleared his throat to get their attention.

"So what's the decision? Are you three going to try and go through with this?" Bobby's voice put a stop to their light joking and the room fell beneath a net of a somber thought. "Or are you going to try and think up another way to get out of this mess?"

"Yes," Harry spoke resolutely. "We have to."

"Glad you feel that way." Hermes was leaning against the window with his ankles crossed casually as he faced each of the hunters, acting as if he had been standing there the entire time. He had an arrow balanced loosely in his hands and he shifted it from one hand to the other under their cautious gazes. "I was willing to do things that would have probably hurt Harry in order to get this task taken care of."

"You really shouldn't say things like that to the people who are going to be doing your dirty work," Dean glared daggers at Hermes.

"Don't threaten the messenger who carries the one weapon available to you that can kill a God." Hermes set the arrow down on the table and Harry felt the power radiating from it. Harry immediately reached out to touch it but stopped himself when he felt it brush almost viciously against his magic. It felt like a warning, almost like a challenge.

"Look at you glow." Hermes voice was filled with awe as he moved around the table. His eyes were wide and taking in everything. "You feel it don't you little magician?"

Harry moistened his lips and met Hermes' eyes, "Who's was that?"

"It's Apollo's." Sam answered.

"That belonged to Apollo?"

"Yes, he let me bring it to you." Hermes shrugged as if it weren't anything but looked around the table and sighed. "You have heard how he used his arrows in war, haven't you? These were arrows are legendary. In war he shot arrows infected with the plague to get rid of the enemy, to do what he had to. He also killed Achilles with one of these arrows. Apollo is a master with the bow and arrow, and we still value this weapon more than you would value one of those guns of yours. So however you choose to use it to kill Shango, I don't care. But it's the only thing that can and will kill him and so far you three are our best hope. Now the tricky part is which of you can handle it?"

Hermes' eyes tracked over Harry, Sam, and Dean before he settled back on Harry. "You glow almost like your magic wants to be the one to touch it but you can't, can you?"

"Why not?" Dean asked. His tone almost sounded offended by the fact that Harry wouldn't be able to use a weapon that was crafted and used by an actual God.

"It issued a warning didn't it?" Hermes frowned. "Didn't like your power?"

"You could say that," Harry nodded. "It felt like a challenge. Like it had to show its own source of power and issue a warning of sorts."

"Best not to let you try again then. It's going to be one of the Winchesters." Hermes stood waiting for them to make a decision and they sat staring at the arrow. "Take some action, yes? It's not going to choose by its self."

"We don't have magic, how are we supposed to know? What if it zaps us?"

"First off, it won't zap you. It'll destroy you. All you need to do is what Harry did. You'll feel if you can or can not use it. Just go for it, yeah?" Hermes waited a few beats before taking matters into his own hands. He grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him over towards the arrow. Dean yanked back with a yelp.

"That felt like a ton of ants just bit the crap out of me. Don't do you ever do that again."

"Well now it's up to you, Sam. Let's hope one of you can hold on to it without any repercussions."

Sam cautiously reached out towards the arrow and let his fingers drape over the deep burgundy-brown feather fletching before tracing up to the pitch black arrow head. His lips parted as his finger pricked and blood rushed to the surface before it soaked into the shaft of the arrow.

"Knew you three were something special," Hermes spoke softly. "Never lose this arrow, even after you kill Shango. It's yours, Sam. Never lose it."

"So what do we do? String up a bow and shoot him with it?" Dean asked with one eye still on Sam and the arrow.

"That is entirely up to you. Just this is the only weapon that you can use to kill him with." Hermes gave a graceful bow and nodded towards Harry before disappearing from the kitchen.

"He's an interesting guy." Dean moved over to the counter to get the long forgotten about food and set about reheating it so they could actually eat. "How long do you think we have until Shango shows up on the doorstep?"

"Not sure," Sam answered as he fingers tapped a staccato rhythm out against the table top. "I just know it isn't going to be fun."

The dark blush of night greeting morning was all they had to wait. The sky was morphing from gentle to violent within seconds as Bobby, Harry, Sam, and Dean stood audience to the wreckage Shango was creating. The only barrier between them and the destruction was the thin glass of a window pane and the house.

Wind tore through trees and branches sliced through air and rain like daggers before burying tightly into the sopping soil. Bright flashes of lightening lit the sky like fire as thunder roared through the air. They stood silently watching and listening to the shotgun crack and boom of a tree falling somewhere unseen.

Bits and pieces of chain link fencing twisted and spiraled through the air until it caught on the trunk of an aged pine and dug its teeth in tight. Siding on houses next door gave in to the twisted shudder and dance before falling towards the ground and being carried away with the wind.

"How are we going to go about handling this?" Bobby finally broke the terse silence that had fallen over the room.

"Bobby," Harry stepped away from the window, his eyes drawn towards the sky, "You should stay in here until it's done. When everything gets quiet you can come out and make sure that everything went the way it should have."

"You three better not do anything stupid." Bobby's voice was softer than usual and his warning was received with a nod from Harry.

"We'll stay away from the trees," Harry continued as his eyes focused on searching out flying debris. "Try not to go out in open areas because of the lightning. Stay close to the house, and near the car port. You can run out if you need to but it'll keep something solid at your back."

"What if he doesn't show up?" Sam asked. He had the arrow held in one hand while the other was tapping against Harry's shoulder.

"I think it's pretty obvious he's here, Sam. He's not going to turn out to be a no show. We just have to find him in this mess." Dean patted Sam roughly on his back. "Are we sticking together or how are we going about this?"

Sam plucked his cell phone out his pocket and sighed, "Cell reception is out."

"Did you really think it wouldn't be?" Harry rubbed a hand over his mouth, "I take it Sam's for splitting up and conquering more ground. What about you, Dean?"

"I think it might be better for someone to stick with Sam because someone needs to be able to distract the guy while Sam makes the kill." Dean explained and they all jumped back when a branch smacked into the side of the house hard enough to shatter the window and rain began to soak the floor.

"You two head around one side and I'll take the other. We meet up and go from there. We need to do this now." Harry shook his head as he led them towards the door and stopped with his hand on the handle. "You two stick together and I should be right behind you in a few minutes. No heroics?"

"No heroics." They both agreed.

"Watch out for each other out there. I'll get the door" Bobby told them as he pulled the door open and a gust of wind had the door slamming against the wall and out of Bobby's grip. Harry stumbled back against Sam from the force of the wind. They each ducked their faces as they headed out into the rain. Bobby slammed the door closed behind them singling the moment to split up and to start searching for Shango.

The wind picked up and the whistle of the wind filled Harry's ears as rain soaked his clothes through to the skin. A wild branch flew towards his face and Harry ducked with his hands covering his head as it clattered against the house and to the ground and he moved on.

Harry took a calming breath and coughed at the rain water that he inhaled. Harry swiped the wet hair out of his face before moving around the corner of the house and the white light and ear splitting crack had him falling backwards and scrambling from where he was standing. Harry looked up at the sky as it growled out another warning and lightning jumped from cloud to cloud. Harry's eyes traced the movement for a moment before a pair of dry slacks moved into view. It didn't take long to locate Shango this time. "Shit."

"Foul language is not how you should greet a God, Mr. Potter. You should bow to me."

Harry moved to his feet faster than he thought possible and took a graceful step backwards into a puddle as hail started to assault the ground with soft thumps and splashes of muddied water. Harry watched as Shango moved in feather light steps around him and was left untouched by all the destruction he was causing.

"Why are you doing this?" Harry hunched his shoulders away from the hail and rain.

"Because they killed her," Shango's voice was like melted butter. It rolled right off of insanity and into murder. "Now they are going to kill me. You are going to kill me."

"If you would have stopped when Hermes asked," Harry yelled over the rain and the sound of a chain link fence rattling, "We wouldn't have to do this. I wouldn't have to do this."

"You don't have to do anything!" Shango howled and a bolt of lighting had the ground smoldering next to Shango. "You don't have to be a part of any of this."

"Neither do you! But you aren't giving me any choice so I have to be a part of this!" Harry yelled back and froze when Shango's hands snaked out and wrapped around his throat. His grip didn't tighten or move. The furious God just held Harry there, unmoving and silent as Harry spoke, "I have to do this."

"Why? Why must you kill me? What have I done to harm you? I have done nothing to you!"

"I can't let them kill Sam or Dean," Harry whispered across the wind and rain. He watched as a horrible sense of comprehension passed across Shango's eyes. In that moment Harry knew who else shared the bond Hermes had spoke to him about. It was Shango and his wife. That's why the God had been losing his mind and destroying anything that he encountered. Shango couldn't cope with who he lost and he couldn't understand how to go on living with out her.

In a single moment of clarity, Harry stood inches away from Shango meeting fearsome eyes knowing that Shango wasn't going to let him live. Not here with his hand clutched around Harry's throat and not with the knowledge that Harry would do whatever he could to keep Sam and Dean alive. Harry felt the dry grip of the fingers tighten across his windpipe and watched the misery pass through Shango's eyes.

"No," Shango shook his head and Harry's hands grasped at the death grip the God had on him. No matter how futile the effort, Harry couldn't stop the instinctive need to fight as his feet lifted off the ground and kicked at the perilous few inches of air that separated his feet from the ground. "I can't let you. They have to suffer for what they have done. They need to understand what killing her has caused."

Harry gave a minute jerk of his hand beneath the grip as his body grew unbearably hot and he felt everything go numb.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We should have stuck together," Sam's voice was just loud enough for Dean to hear over the rain and shriek of the wind.

"No, someone needs to watch out for you. If I can't do that then Harry will." Dean stayed in step with Sam as they rounded the corner of the house. Dean kept Sam between him and the house as he took the brute of the rain and wind. Both of them looked up at the darkening sky before the lightning lit it up as it skipped from cloud to cloud, waiting for just the right moment to make landfall.

"He's angry."

"How could you tell?" Sam rolled his eyes and they kept walking and Sam sunk into a puddle of mud and Dean had to help him out. "At least I didn't lose my shoe this time."

"Course you didn't princess." Dean waited for Sam to regain his balance as well as he could in the wind and rain before they started off again. They were about to make it around the next corner where they should end up meeting up with Harry when they heard him.

"What have I done to harm you?" 

Sam's amused annoyance turned to heart stopping fear at Harry's strained response. "I can't let them kill Sam or Dean."

"What's happening?" Sam hissed out and they both slipped around the corner as Shango started to speak. Dean's fingers curled around Sam's dripping jacket hard as Harry reached up and wrapped his hands around Shango. "No." The second Harry's emerald eyes gave in to what was about to happen both he and Sam took off through the rain and ignored the smoke that rose off the ground the closer they got to the soul wrenching scene. Harry's feet scrambled for purchase against the wet grass as he was lifted off the ground and his hands scratched at Shango's grip. "I can't let you. They have to suffer for what they have done. They need to understand what killing her has caused."

A wall of static and white hot heat stopped them and forced them to watch as the fight left Harry's body. Shango turned a crazed eye on the Winchesters and dropped Harry unceremoniously into the sopping wet ground. Harry's face was half in a puddle of mud, and half exposed to the rain and hail. There weren't any ripples of shallow breaths against the water collected beneath his nose. There weren't any movements coming from his chest. There was nothing but Harry lying lifeless on the ground.

Sam couldn't breathe. He didn't care that there was hail mixed in with the rain and cutting across his cheeks. He didn't care that there was a God waiting for his next move. All he could think of, all he could see was Harry.

Harry, that this monster had killed out of cold blood and with his bare hands. Sam looked down at the arrow in his hand and crumbled to his knees. How was he supposed to want to try? This, none of this, was worth it without Harry and Harry was gone.

"Sam!" Sam looked up at Dean's yell and Shango yanked on the lapels of his jacket and he let himself be pulled and dragged upwards and into the fury that blinded the God.

"You know how it feels to have everything ripped from your soul. To have the one thing you cherish more than your own life to be taken away."

Sam closed his eyes. Yeah, he knew what it felt like having his world taken away from him. He and Dean had both grown up learning that lesson. That didn't mean he was going to destroy peoples' lives because of it. It didn't mean he was going to let other people suffer for what had happened to Harry.

"Sam!" Dean's voice cut through the fog of misery and anger shot through his veins like adrenaline. Sam slammed the arrow into Shango's chest and red bloomed around the wound. Sam fell with Shango to the ground and watched as the life slip from his eyes. As the rain lightened, Shango's grip loosened and Sam slipped out of the grip and ran over towards Harry.

He rolled Harry onto his back and started to clear Harry's mouth of the mud. As soon as it was clear enough he tilted Harry's head back and started breathing for him. Then he moved on to chest compressions. "Come on." Sam repeated the process several times with Dean's watchful eyes on him before he felt a pair of arms pull him off of Harry. "No!"

"Sam," Bobby's voice was rough and it cracked just saying Sam's name. "You can't help him now."

"We can't give up," Sam folded into himself and stared at Harry. His face dirty and lifeless eyes staring up at the light blush of the morning sky he never got the chance to see again.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We can't give up."

Harry walked around Sam's sobbing form while Dean sat audience to Bobby wiping the mud off of Harry's cheeks with a tenderness Harry had never seen Bobby give even the oldest of texts. Harry reached out to touch but his hand passed right through their bodies.

"Get your brother inside, Dean."

"Okay" The words were whispered and Harry watched the struggle to get Sam away from his prone body. "Come on, Sam. Bobby'll know what to do, Sam. Right now let me take care of you."

"We should be doing that. We should be the ones taking care of Harry."

"But we can't."

"It's obvious how much they care about you." Harry spun around to look at the woman standing behind him. She stood tall with her flowing black hair and olive skin. Her eyes held a radiated a calculation that Harry had only seen in warriors before. Her attire was all too similar to Shango's, dark pants, and a crisp white shirt hidden beneath a jacket. It had Harry stepping back away from the procession going on with his body behind him as he too her. Even in death he couldn't get away from the things threatening him. "You have nothing to fear from me, Mr. Potter. I am not here to harm you. You could say that I was sent as a good will ambassador because you did the job I was originally assigned to and could not complete. I am sorry to see that you did not make it out so well."

"Who are you?" Harry asked, looking back at Sam and Dean. Dean was still struggling to get Sam up and on his feet as Bobby kept his eyes glued to the ground, hot tears soaking into the ground.

"They call me Athena," She gave a graceful dip and her hair fell over her shoulder and Harry spotted an owl tattooed to her neck the same place Hermes had his wings. It was like a modern day call sign in the form of tattoos. "I've been watching you three for awhile now. Each of you is fascinating in your own right, but when you're together it's almost terrifying. Now I understand why."

"If I'm supposed to die, will you just let me?" Harry wiped a hand over his eyes as the sight of Dean forcefully dragging Sam away from his body. "I don't want to see this anymore. It's not right what you're doing to them. We did what you asked. We gave up everything when we didn't want to and now look at them!"

"You're going to want to be here for this." Athena's voice softened at Harry's heartbreaking plea. "Did you remember what you thought before you gave in to Shango's hands? Do you remember those last thoughts you had before you died?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "I was busy dying."

Athena stepped closer, dark eyes softening, "You were thinking, 'I'd give the world as long as they have each other.' They have each other, but they're nothing without you."

"I know that." Harry choked out. "I can see that."

"It's a good thing we like you three so much," Athena lead Harry over towards his body. "And that you three have done a hell of a lot to keep your world safe otherwise you'd be having a conversation with Hades instead of me."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm putting you back where you belong." Athena smiled. "You've got enough of us on your side and with what you did today you may have gained a few more supporters. So back you go."

"What?"

"It's not your time!" Athena growled. "Not everyone gets a Goddess to put them back or a thank you from the Gods. We could have left you dead and rotting. Now it'll feel disgusting but lie down and close your eyes."

"This is it right? No more killing for you?"

"I can't make promises like that, Harry. You three are too special to be left alone." Athena pushed Harry down and he shivered at the feeling. "Close your eyes."

Harry closed his eyes and listening to the soft words slipping from her lips and the background of soft crickets and the croak of frogs after a humid rain.

"This might hurt a little, but we'll always be watching you three."

Harry felt air filling his lungs as if someone squeezed the life back into him and all he could do was cough against the sudden onslaught of oxygen. He felt like someone cracked his chest open as he coughed up bits of mud and water into his fist as he scrubbed at the side of his neck where pinpricks of pain settled into his skin right before he was bowled over and back onto his back.

"Harry!" Sam's red rimmed eyes stared straight into his eyes and his hands brushed across his face and down his chest. "Harry!"

Another two faces entered his view and Harry couldn't help but give a weak smile up at them. Dean wiped a hand over his face in disbelief and Bobby looked lost at his sudden recovery. "Hey."

"We thought," Dean started but stopped him self with a hand over his mouth as if saying it would make it come true.

"I know," Harry spoke from the hold Sam had him in. "I know."

"How?" Bobby asked. "You were…"

"Apparently Athena's a lot nicer than all the Gods out there." Harry answered. "And they wanted to thank us for what Sam did."

Harry stood up and grimaced at the state of his clothes before Bobby had him wrapped up tight in a hug. "Don't ever make me do that again, kid. I don't think I can handle seeing you that way."

Harry nodded and held onto Bobby just as tight. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For taking care of them when I couldn't."

Bobby's hands clenched tighter in Harry's jacket and Harry ignored the sniffle and the quick swipe of his hand beneath his eyes as Bobby backed away.

Harry stood awkwardly facing Dean. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Dean croaked before he wrapped his arms around Harry. "You're soaked."

"Let's get everyone inside and changed. It might be humid as hell out here now but that doesn't mean that you still won't get sick." Bobby nudged Sam towards Harry and Dean. Bobby stood still, watching as Sam and Dean guided Harry into the house. Both had an arm wrapped around Harry. This life wasn't an easy one to live but Bobby wasn't ever prepared for something like this. He wasn't ever going to be prepared for losing any of his boys and he needed a few minutes to get himself back together.

Harry walked into the cool air of the house and pulled away from Sam and Dean. "I'm going to go take a shower real quick. I just need to—"

"Do what you need to," Dean interrupted Harry's explanation. "We'll be okay out here."

"Okay," Harry nodded before heading down the hallway and digging through the dresser for clean clothes and he headed into the bathroom and peeled his clothes off. The water was hot and he scrubbed his skin raw trying to get the feeling and the smell of death off. It didn't take long before the water ran cold and Harry was pulling fresh clothes on and sidestepping the soaked reminders of earlier. He moved to the sink to inspect his neck and frowned. Another mark to say he was something different. It was small arrow right below his ear that looked just like the one Sam used to kill Shango with. "Great.

Harry stepped out of the bathroom found Sam was waiting for him in fresh clothes. Harry shook his head in amusement. "Shower's free but I doubt there's going to be any hot water left."

"Both Dean and I used the spare bathroom. You were in there for a while." Sam answered moving towards Harry. "Mind if I check something?"

"What?"

"Just let me check," Sam tilted Harry's head to the side and tapped the arrow lightly. "You've got one too."

"You have one to?"

"Dean too, I guess it happened after you," Sam coughed into his hand, "came back."

"Well, I feel better knowing I'm not the only one." Harry shrugged and shuffled his feet around the floor. "I'm a bit tired so I'm going to sleep for a little while. You mind staying with me?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded with a confused expression on his face.

"Good," Harry pulled Sam down into a soft kiss. "I'm going to go check on Bobby real quick and tell Dean then I'll be right back."

"I can go do that, Harry."

"I know, but so can I." Harry pressed another kiss to Sam's lips before slipping out the room and down the hallway and into the kitchen to where Bobby was sitting in wet clothes and Dean was sipping on a cup of water. "You okay, Bobby?"

"Will be, how about you?"

"I'm fine. About to go and lay down for a bit." Harry spoke softly.

"Sounds like a good idea. Once there's hot water in this house I'll take a shower and do that myself. Until then I guess I'll hide out in the kitchen while everyone else sleeps."

"Sounds like a plan," Dean followed Harry down the hall and stopped him before they got to the room. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Harry gave a small smile up at Dean. "I just wanted to have both of you in there. Do you mind sitting in there until I sleep."

Dean snorted before nudging at Harry. "Come on."

Harry leaned against Dean and inhaled his scent before wrapping his arms around Dean's waist. "Thanks."

"Like I'd rather be anywhere else," Dean shook his head and laid a kiss on Harry's forehead. "Come on lets get into bed."


	23. Chapter 23

Harry woke up to rain tapping lightly against the window panes of their room. The only light illuminating the room came from the bright moon and the flickering security light fastened outside the house. After a few minutes of staring up at the ceiling Harry shrugged out of the protective hold both Sam and Dean had him in. He swiveled around on the mattress and sat watching each soft intake of breath, each rise and fall of their chests with his arms wrapped tight around his knees. Those were the little signs of life that kept Harry's heart calm and beating.

He let a hand brush the stray hairs out of Sam's face. He closed his eyes against the memory of the heart wrenching sounds of grief that came from Sam. Harry let his fingers blindly mark a trail over smooth skin. He traced from the brow line down the bridge of Sam's nose and across silky lips. Taking a soft breath Harry rested his hand feather light across Sam's cheek.

He shook his head clear of the thoughts of loss as his eyes flickered over towards Dean. Never had Harry seen so much life, so much hope, disappear as quickly as it had in Dean. It was like someone flipped a switched and it drained from his soul. Dean had broken so quickly, he was lost.

Placing his hand on top of the slow, steady rise and fall of Dean's chest, Harry let his fingers curl around Sam's twitching fingers. He loved them so much it hurt. It hurt to think about the things they could have gone through with out him there. It crushed down against Harry's chest, not having ever said it out loud. Merlin, Harry loved Sam and Dean Winchester so much he was willing to die for them.

Harry wiped his eyes with his shoulder and gave himself a weak smile, trying to ward away the thoughts with such a menial gesture. He jumped when Sam's whisper broke through his thoughts. "Harry?" The sheets slipped down his chest and pooled around Sam's waist as he sat up to get a better look at Harry, "What's wrong?

Harry shrugged and Sam wiped a thumb beneath Harry's eyes waiting as Harry spoke softly, "Just everything catching up with me. That's all."

Sam nodded before tugging Harry in close to him. Sam searched Harry's face as his hands carded through Harry's wild hair. "I can't do this ever again."

Harry blinked long and slow against Sam's words. "I know. I saw it, Sam. Before Athena put me back, I was there." Sam rested his forehead against Harry's and took a deep breath as Harry spoke again, "I saw everything each of you went through, Sam."

Harry jumped when a warm hand landed on his back and Dean pressed his face against Harry's shoulder; breathing soft and deep to taking in Harry's scent once again. His eyes were closed but his fingers were wrapped around Harry's thigh. As if he was trying to anchor them together.

They stayed like that until the warmth of sleep faded, leaving their skin cool. Harry let himself move under careful hands from sitting to lying on the bed between them. His breaths quickened against the soft brush of lips against his skin.

Sam's long tapered fingers wrapped tightly around Harry's chest and rested above his heart as he laid light kisses across Harry's shoulder and slowly up the back of his neck. His lips stilled against the nape of Harry's neck. He felt every beat of Harry's heart beneath the palm of his hand and took in the scent that was distinctly Harry.

Dean pressed his lips against Harry's, his nose brushing the corner of Harry's. Harry reached up and traced the shell of Dean's ear with his finger tips and down his jaw before opening his mouth under Dean's. Dark lashes fluttered down against alabaster skin as Harry's lips moved against Dean's. It was languid and without heat.

Dean pulled away from Harry, licking his lips with his eyes still closed. "You're here. You're really here with us."

Harry nodded against Dean's forehead and linked his fingers through Sam's fingers that were still resting against his chest. "I just needed to see."

"Go back to sleep," Sam spoke against the back of Harry's neck. "We'll be here when you wake up."

The second time Harry woke up the sun was bright and he was curled up halfway on top of Sam. His eyes level with the miniature arrow tattooed into his skin. Harry squinted against the sun and outlined the arrow. It was slightly raised and the skin around the mark felt smooth. Harry went to trace the mark again when a hand grabbed his wrist and he looked down into sleepy eyes. "That tickles."

"Maybe you shouldn't have told me that?" Harry smirked trying to reach for the spot again and a pair of arms reached around him.

"What are you two doing awake this early in the morning?" Dean's voice was rough in Harry's ear, and an eye brow quirked down at Sam's laughing grin.

"Torturing me," Sam answered before he tapped at Harry's matching arrow tattoo. "Harry was checking out the arrow."

"Was just curious," Harry shrugged and turned to look at Dean's. "It makes you wonder."

"Yeah," Dean rolled his eyes before he got up and out of the tangle of limbs. He stood and stretched with his hands reaching upwards towards the ceiling. His back cracked with the arched movement. "We'll figure it out but first I say we get some breakfast because I don't know about you two, but I'm starving."

Sam gave a loud groan but followed suit as Harry ambled out of bed left both brothers alone in the room as he headed for the kitchen. Dean blocked the doorway before Sam could leave and he scratched the back of his neck and around to the arrow beneath his ear as he bit into his bottom lip.

"What is it?" Sam toed the floor in curiosity.

"You think Harry's okay with everything that's happened?"

Sam looked up at the ceiling before running a hand through his hair. "He will be."

"You just don't bounce back from that." Dean tapped a hand on the door frame. "Even we're not going to just be okay from this, Sam. I just don't know what to do for him to make it all right again."

Sam wrapped his arms around Dean's shoulders and held him tight for a moment, "You let Harry take control for a little while. Let everything go back to normal and not make a big deal out of it. Talk if you need to but don't let this hurt you, Dean. We're both here for you."

"I know," Dean nodded and pulled away from Sam. "I just don't know what to do. I mean what do I do?"

"Well, first you should eat." Sam grinned at the annoyance that passed over Dean's face as he nudged Dean out the room and down the hall. "Then we go from there. We'll figure it out."

"We always do." Dean finished the thought out and smirked when he saw Bobby leaning against the counter with a cup of steaming coffee in hand watching as Harry maneuvered around the kitchen. There were already pans on the stove top, bacon sizzling and Harry was working on scrambling eggs. "Morning, Bobby."

"I found something of yours." Bobby gestured towards the arrow sitting inconspicuously on the counter top with his coffee cup. "Or rather it found you."

Both Sam and Dean froze when Harry dropped the spatula he was using at Bobby's mention of the arrow. Harry quickly swooped down and grabbed it up off the floor and tossed it in the sink before grabbing a clean one out of the drawer.

"The yard is clean too." Bobby said softly, setting his cup down and heading out of the kitchen. Harry finished cooking before following after the elder hunter.

"I'm going to go check on him. You two should eat while everything is hot, okay?" Harry ran his hand over their shoulders in an action of reassurance as he headed out to the front yard.

Harry stood a few feet behind Bobby. He watched as Bobby pulled off his hat and crushed the bill of it together in his hands. Bobby's shoulders were hunched in and his posture slouched as he stared across the empty streets and the upright trees.

"What are you supposed to say here?" Bobby's voice was rough and he kept his face adverted.

"Normally you say whatever comes right to your mind." Harry grinned as he stepped up to Bobby. "What are you thinking?"

"That I should probably head out," Bobby looked down at the ground. "Or maybe I should stay. That my god damn mind can't figure anything out right now and you're the one we should be looking out for."

"I'm fine, Bobby." Harry set a hand on Bobby's shoulder. "We all went through a lot. Not just me."

"But you," Bobby's hand tightened around the bill of his hat and he turned to look at Harry and the red rimmed eyes shocked Harry. "You died. You died for those boys and you're acting like it was nothing. You're acting like you do that kind of thing every day. Not only did you die but you saw everything that happened after. You saw every second of what it would have been like for those boys with out you around."

"And it hurts." Harry closed his eyes. "Oh, it hurts like hell, Bobby. But I've got the people I'd do it all again for in that house. Both of who are willing to sit up all night with me if need be. I've got people to lean on. We all do, Bobby. You included."

"I just feel like I should be watching what I say around you." Bobby kicked at the dirt and Harry snorted. "Well looked at what happened earlier when I brought up the arrow and when you walked in the kitchen and saw the damn thing. You tripped over the air and fell into the fridge."

"I just forgot about it." Harry reached up and traced over the mark just below his ear. "I didn't forget about this though."

"No, I don't suppose you did." Bobby moved Harry's hand and tipped Harry's head to the side so he could get a better look at it. "She didn't tell you anything about this?"

"Not a thing." Harry answered. "Athena just told me to lie back down in my body and I was there coughing up a lung and alive. Thank Merlin."

Bobby nodded and plucked at the broken seams on his hat for a minute. "I've got a bunch of books back in South Dakota about Apollo and Artemis that might clue us in a little. It might do everyone well to become well versed in the world of the Gods. It looks like we might be getting more familiar with them if those marks and that arrow hanging around has anything to do with things."

"So you're not going to be hanging around?" Harry bumped shoulders with Bobby's.

"You boys don't need to put up with me being in your hair. I'll be back soon with enough books in tow to give you migraines for days. Just give me a couple of weeks before you let the world come crashing down once again. I'd don't want to be rushing back here to save your illiterate asses."

"Shut up." Harry snorted. "When are you going to head out? You're going to eat first at least, yeah?"

"What's with the mother hen act all of a sudden?" Bobby snorted before flattening the bill of his hat out and he settled it back on top of his head. "Come on kid. Let's go eat before both those twits eat everything in sight."

"They wouldn't dare." Harry grinned. "I'd kick them out and to the couch."

"Some things I just don't care to hear about."

"Oh yeah?" Harry chuckled. "I heard you are known to embarrass the hell out of Winchesters. It's like sport for you."

"I'd do no such thing," Bobby gave a wide grin as he held the door open for Harry to pass through. They headed towards the table to the plates that had been made up and set out for them. Harry sat between Sam and Dean.

"So," Dean looked between Harry and Bobby. "Girl time is over?"

"I'm going to be heading out. Let you three have some time to yourselves but," Bobby ignored the eye rolls and the aggravated sighs he got from the, but, "You should probably do some research and get up to date on your mythology. It's looking like you lot are of special interest to the Gods and they aren't going to just leave you alone now that you're marked."

"No, us having a few days to ourselves," Dean pointed at Bobby with a fork, "That would be too much like right. Wouldn't it?"

"Well try your best to get some rest while for a few days?" Bobby suggested. "Don't go and intentionally search any hunts out until the beginning of next week. Give yourselves some time. Go on a damn vacation or something."

Both Dean and Sam sat with their forks halfway to their mouths, staring at Bobby in shock from his suggestion.

"You okay over there, Bobby?" Dean finally took asked after setting his fork down on his plate.

"Dandy, I'm just going to finish up and make sure I've got everything together and then I'm going to head back to South Dakota. I might have some more in depth material at my place that'll give us some insight to those new beauty marks of yours."

Sam nodded, seemingly accepting Bobby's response even though the room quieted and stayed silent through the remainder of breakfast. Slowly their dishes filled the sink and Bobby disappeared into the spare room while Harry started scrubbing everything clean.

"There's nothing wrong with Bobby, right?" Sam asked quietly as Harry handed over a plate to be set in the drainer.

"Nothing wrong with him," Harry looked up at Sam and then over towards where Dean was leaning against the counter sipping on the last cup of coffee. "He just needs some space to get his head on right. Research is the best way for Bobby to do that."

"Yeah, I guess." Dean shrugged his shoulders and sipped at his coffee watching as Harry and Sam worked to clean the dishes. Harry glared at Dean before flicking soap suds at him. Dean jerked his cup back and growled at Harry when the soap suds landed precariously close to his coffee.

"You could help," Sam grinned and passed a wet dish towel over towards Dean. "Wipe down the table."

"Oh, and what will I get if I do?" Dean gave Harry a lavish smirk as he swapped his coffee for the dish towel and set about wiping the table clean. Sam shared an amused look with Harry as they finished off the dishes. "Well? What do I get?" Dean asked against as he rinsed the rag clean.

"Not a damn thing, Winchester." Harry grinned up at Dean. "Not a damn thing."

"Really now?" Dean gave a mirthful smile and he backed Harry against Sam. "How about I just take what I want?"

"I'd say that would be a really terrible idea seeing as Bobby is standing behind you two." Sam was shaking in laughter at the way Harry ducked his head and Dean closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"Right and I don't have to embarrass anyone because you manage that just fine on your own." Harry peeked out from around Dean and scrunched his nose at Bobby's smirking form. "I was just coming to tell you I was about to leave town."

It took a few minutes before they were all trailing after Bobby outside to his car, saying quick good-byes. Harry hung back until Sam and Dean were finished when Bobby turned towards him. "Well kid."

Harry cocked a brow at the term and returned with one of his own, "Old man."

Bobby grabbed Harry tight and held him close. "You take care kid. You mean just as much to me as those Winchesters over there do. So you better take care of yourself while I ain't here to watch out for your crazy ass. I don't think I can survive another mess like this one."

"I don't think I can handle going through something like that again either. My old soul can't handle too many more shocks."

"Old soul my ass," Bobby snorted and shoved Harry away. "I've got a long drive ahead of me so I'm going to go. I'll give you a call as soon as I know something about your new artwork."

"Stay safe."

"You know me." Bobby tugged on the bill of his hat and settled in to his car.

The evening was quiet and frustrating for Harry. Both Sam and Dean kept stealing quick glances at Harry when they thought he wasn't looking. Harry was half tempted to yell, "Boo!" to see if they'd jump or if he could get them to stop but he knew it wouldn't accomplish much. They'd still be watching for any little indication that something was off. Even after cleaning up and getting ready for bed they were still playing the same game.

They were supposed to be relaxing before bed while Sam was sitting on the couch and Dean was taking his turn in the shower. Harry had given up on the book he was reading and watched as Sam attempted to look like he was reading. After a few minutes of swift glances from Sam Harry snapped, "Would you just stop it?"

"Stop what?" Sam looked around the room as if it would magically give him the answer.

"This!" Harry nabbed the book out of Sam's hands and tossed it to the floor. "You keep looking at me like you expect me to go mental. I'm fine. Well, I'm on my way to fine but you and Dean are driving me nuts with all these side long glances."

"We're just looking out for you." Sam rubbed the palms of his hands dry on his sleep pants. Harry swatted Sam's hands away and rested his head on Sam's thigh.

"Let's find something to watch on the television because this whole trying to be stealthy while reading, it really isn't working out too well for you." Harry snatched the remote and started flipping through the channels.

"Burn," Dean commented as he moved around the couch and shook his head when Harry yawned up at him.

Harry stretched out across the couch and rubbed a hand over his face, "You're included in that, you know."

"Well thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to point that out." Dean reached a hand out, "Come on, you're exhausted."

Harry grabbed Dean's hand and let Dean pull him to his feet. "I was watching," Harry looked back at the television to take a quick look but Sam had turned it off with a grin.

"You don't even know what you were watching. You were too busy dozing off." Sam commented.

"You just want me," Harry snapped his mouth shut, "I'm not going to finish that thought."

"A sure sign that you're exhausted," Dean grinned as he nudged Harry towards the bedroom, "When you start innuendos you have no intention of following through with."

"You're lucky I like you Winchester." Harry yawned as he flopped down on top of the cool sheets and clarified while he slipped underneath the sheets. "Both of you. Otherwise this bed would be all mine."

Sam rolled onto his side and pressed a quick kiss to Harry's lips, "Lies, all lies."

"That's what you think." Harry turned away from Sam and settled back against Sam's chest. Harry pressed tucked his head beneath Dean's chin and let the sounds of their breathing lull him into a calm peace. As soon as sleep stole them away Harry felt every muscle give in and relax with a sigh. As sleep took him under, the words slipped out before he could stop them with a whisper, "Love you."


	24. Chapter 24

Harry padded through the living room and into the kitchen with a soft smile. There was something so peaceful about the past few weeks. They all settled into a quiet routine of just being home and living with each other. They spent the time relearning who they were together, figuring out that they didn't have to walk on broken eggshells around each other. They were alive and they were becoming okay again.

Harry listened to the soft humming coming from Dean as the hunter cleaned the kitchen and wriggled his hips in time with his hummed out beat. Harry watched with amusement as Dean flicked dying out soap suds against the window pane at a bug before rinsing it clean.

"Do I want to know what that bug ever did to you?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

Dean grinned as he wiped the counters down and tossed the rag back in the soapy water. "That would be a definite no. It could possibly damage you."

Harry shook his head with a soft smile. "Right and we wouldn't want that. Where's Sam at?"

"I'm pretty sure he's busy geeking out at the bookstore and picking up food." Dean snorted in amusement. "Apparently we are out of everything edible in the house so Sam took it upon himself to make sure we start eating properly again."

Harry chucked at Dean's words. It sounded exactly like something Sam would say, especially with the tone Dean tacked on to it. "So what's he geeking out about?" Harry asked as he popped up to sit on the freshly cleaned counter and Dean moved to stand in between Harry's slightly parted thighs. His palms were resting high and warm on Harry's legs.

"Are you honestly asking me that question?" Dean cocked a brow as he lifted a hand and let a finger glide over the miniature arrow just below Harry's ear. Dean's lips quirked upwards at Harry's soft intake of breath from the barely there touch. Harry tilted his head back and parted his lips against the inquisitive touches from Dean. Harry's fingers bit into his palms to curb his want as Dean explored his skin.

"He's the curious one. Always has to know what's going on and when it concerns you." Dean's words were a hot whisper against the shell of his ear. Harry's breath stuttered as he leaned into Dean's body. "He's got to know or it just kills him."

Harry curled his fingers into Dean's hips as soon as the hunter's moist lips brushed against the tender skin and the raised marking of the arrow. Harry brought Dean closer, his fingers first tugging the hunter by belt loops. Then focusing on the way Dean's muscles quivered against the fumbling of his hands trying to get the belt buckle loose.

Harry sucked in a deep breath when Dean's hands slipped over his and took over the task. Harry watched as Dean popped the button and left a tantalizing glimpse of skin before Dean was flicking the fastening of Harry's jeans loose and pulling the zip down slow. Harry swallowed the anticipation of feeling Dean so close again before he was slipping closer and his own hands reaching up to cradle Dean's neck. His thumbs brushing at the skin just below Dean's ears as Harry maneuvered the man in for a needy kiss.

Dean's blown pupils had Harry stopping, a breath away from his lips. Dean's head dropped back and he let out a long unsteady breath from the heat coursing through his veins. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Harry pressed open mouthed kisses along the column of skin that Dean had exposed to Harry. His fingers were still pressing against the arrow as he worked his lips against Dean's skin. "I'm just tasting, that's all."

"This is more than nothing." Dean wrapped a hand around Harry's wrist. A moan was forming in the back of his throat, the vibrations pressing against his chest and lips.

Harry leaned back and the action forced Dean to tilt his face down to look at Harry. Dean rolled his eyes at Harry's cocky grin. Dean tugged Harry in for a messy kiss. Dean pushed Harry further back onto the counter so that Harry was pressed tight against the cabinets. Harry tugged on the precarious grip he had on Dean's hair as he taunted the hunter. His fingers slipped loose from Dean's hair as Dean nipped at Harry's lips as he took slow ardent control of the kiss.

They broke apart when the front door clicked open. Twin sets of green eyes watched as Sam made his way across the living room and into the kitchen. His eyes were darkened with lust as he slipped out of his jacket and he glanced at the rapid rise and fall of Harry and Dean's chests as they panted for air.

"Sam?" Harry wiped a hand over his lips, feeling the burn from Dean's stubble as Sam pressed the heel of his hand to Harry's neck. His skin was feverish against Harry's as the smaller hunter spoke, "What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Sam asked as Harry's eyes glazed over and his breathing quickened. Sam's voice dropped to a lower octave. "One second I'm in the Impala and the next all I can feel is heat coursing through my veins."

Sam ran his fingers across Harry's shoulders, stealing Harry's full attention as he tugged on the messy locks. A gasp escaped cherry lips and emerald eyes glazed over from the twinge of pain that was immediately soothed over by Sam's fingers massaging his scalp. Sam leaned in close his nose brushing against Harry's. "Then the most intense feeling soared through my veins."

Dean raised a brow at Sam's words. His skin was burning with the same feeling that Sam was talking about. He could feel that exact intensity that Sam was talking about. It was like Harry was weaving a spell around them, marking and claiming them as his own. Dean's breath caught at Sam's next words, "I could feel every breath, every touch, and every moment between you two."

Harry's eyes snapped back to a transient focus as he shared a brief moment of wonder with Sam. Then Sam was pulling Harry's mouth to his. Harry let out a growl when Sam's fingernails scratched against the edges of the raised mark. Harry slipped down from the counter and against Sam.

Sam spun Harry around, controlling Harry's every movement, his every sense of pleasure. Dean watched the way Harry moved for Sam. It was almost hypnotizing the way Harry arched up against Sam, brushing every inch of exposed skin against Sam.

The flickering lights had everyone stopping and looking around the room. Dean blinked against the altering bright white lights and the darkness of the room.

Harry tore his lips away from Sam's and he rested his forehead against Sam's chest, blinking away the want, the need, the craving that said to take. Harry turned to look towards the lamps and they watched as the lights settled. Harry took a deep breath and looked over at Dean before giving him a weak smile and licking his lips. "So those arrows, they're a pretty interesting work of art aren't they?"

"I'd say so." Sam answered, his fingers slipping between Harry's jeans and caressing the feverish skin hidden beneath the denims. Harry grabbed Sam's distracting hands, stopping the motion. Dean grinned at Sam's disappointed look.

"A gift from the Gods?" Dean suggested.

"We could always ask Bobby." Sam shrugged and Harry snorted as he stepped back from Sam and directly back into Dean.

"I need air or we're all going to be in trouble here." Harry moved to fix himself a cup of ice water hoping that would help him somehow but the proximity of both Winchesters he didn't really think that would do much for him.

"The lights," Dean eyed Harry. "That wouldn't have happened to have been because of you, would it?"

Harry gave Sam and Dean a sidelong glance as he swallowed down the ice cold water and he ignored the twin looks that said they didn't understand how where they were going would end up being a problem. Harry took a deep breath and bit into his lip as his skin tingled with an overload of magic and energy. He ignored Dean's question in favor of answering Sam's. "And do you really want to ask Bobby about all this?"

Both Dean and Sam looked around the kitchen in embarrassment. 'That's what I thought. I don't want to explain any of this to him either. It would me a little more than awkward."

Dean made to say something and Harry's phone went off. Harry moved across the room and plucked it up off the counter. "Hello? Yeah, I'll be there just give me a little while."

"You are not leaving." Dean set his face in his hands with a frustrated sigh.

"You like to eat right?" Harry tucked his cell phone in his pocket before moving to stand in front of Dean. Harry pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "Just think of the fun we can have later."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry dropped his keys and a pile of books that Bobby had sent through the mail on the counter as he walked through the door. He could smell dinner as he headed into the kitchen but he stopped just outside of the room when he saw Dean's face and Sam's tensed posture. He knew what both of those things meant all too well. What ever was waiting for him in the kitchen wasn't going to be good and he really didn't want to go in there. "Come on Harry, I know you're home. We heard you walk in."

Harry kicked at the floor with his boot. He was internally cursing at the voice that carried from the kitchen and into the living room. Not even a few weeks of peace before someone was already bothering them for something else. "Hermes. It's uh, great to see you again." Harry forced himself to swallow down the vomit that rose in his throat.

"Really?" Hermes set a warm plate of spaghetti on the table for Harry and gestured for him to sit at the head of the table. Hermes had set it up so he was sitting away from both Sam and Dean. "Because for a minute there I almost thought you were going to puke all over your shoes there from just the sound of my voice."

"Nope, I'm good." Harry sat down and looked across the table at Dean, already knowing whatever the messenger was here for wasn't good. "I'm not really hungry though but thanks for the food."

"What a shame, I had been experimenting with my cooking lately. Neither Sam nor Dean would eat it either. Athena said it was delicious at lunch. I didn't poison it, I promise." Harry ignored the disappointed frown and tapped impatiently against the table top.

"Well the last time you cam here Harry did die so you can imagine that would put us off food for a little while, especially when you showed your face here. No offence meant of course." Dean gave a sarcastic smile and Hermes frowned at the hunter.

"Well he's alive now. We could have left him dead you know." Hermes folded his arms over his chest and crossed his ankles before sulking.

"Would you just get to the point?" Harry nudged the plate away, the garlic making his stomach roil with nausea. "Why are you here? I doubt that it's a social call so how about we just get right down to business."

"Right you are Harry. The reason I'm here is, well it's really two reasons. One bit education and one bit favor."

"We already did you a favor." Dean mumbled under his breath but waved a hand for Hermes to get the show on the road.

"Right, those marks you have on your necks there. You haven't noticed anything interesting with them by chance?" Hermes cocked a brow and nodded when he noticed a shade of pink gracing Sam's cheeks. "Right, that's what I thought. Just to give you a little idea of what those marks can do for you three since no one else thought it would be a good idea to inform you three of their significance for humans, or as close to human as your three are. Since you have Harry and Sam here, they actually do a little more than look pretty. While they do what you figured out like the males you are, they also have other purposes. For instance, if one of you is hurt one of the others will know it."

"That's always a plus." Dean commented and ignored the messy kick to his shin that Sam delivered from under the table.

"You could say that." Hermes nodded and continued. "Also these will be handy with your line of work. If one of you happens to get nabbed off the street or randomly disappear like Sam had the habit of doing a while back, it'll be easier to find each other. It'll be an instinctive action, knowing where to find each other. You'll always somehow be able to locate one and other. Lucky for you, yes? You'll figure out all the little nuances of the marks as you go. The emotional bleed, the fun things that are better discovered rather than told but you weren't going to figure any of these things out from a book. Not like you were hoping."

"You've been watching us." Sam shook his head before running his hands through his hair and looking over at Harry. "I guess privacy is too much to ask for."

"Of course we've been watching you. At least Athena and I have." Hermes toed the ground with his polished black shoes. "We've caused a lot of trouble and we wanted to make sure that once Harry was back he wouldn't lose it like almost all humans do."

"Great." Dean nodded to himself. "So why else are you here? It's not all rainbows and gumdrops."

"We need a favor." Hermes admitted softly.

"Yeah? And what's that? You got another God that needs ganking? Because we've been there, done that and look how that turned out!" Dean stood up, his face turning red in anger. "We can't go through that ever again. You don't understand what that did. You don't understand anything!"

"Calm down." Hermes held a hand out and lowered his voice.

"What do you want? What could you want so soon? It hasn't even been over a month and you're already standing back on our doorstep and you're asking for our help again." Harry and Sam watched the way Dean faced Hermes, not caring who he was yelling at. Harry felt something spark inside him at the protectiveness that was exuding from the hunter. Harry looked over at Sam knowing Sam was feeling the same thing he was feeling.

"Dean," Harry reached out and wrapped a soothing hand around Dean's wrist in an attempt to calm him down. "Just take a deep breath and let's hear him out. Okay? We might not like it but you've got to remember what Bobby said. We were marked by them. They aren't just going to go away because we don't like them at the moment. For all we know it might not be anything big, it could be picking flowers for all we know."

"Toxic flowers maybe."

"The favor isn't what you're thinking and it's definitely not picking toxic flowers, Dean. Just one two out of the three of you won't like it all that much." Hermes moved around the kitchen eyeing the stack of books Harry had brought in with him and he sighed. "You're already doing it by the looks of it."

"Yeah and what's that?" Sam's voice cracked as he spoke. "Reading up on Gods and Goddesses so we know what we're getting involved in? That seems like a logical move in the long run if you're marked by them."

Hermes hummed and flipped through a few of the books interestedly before looking over at Harry. "Just know what you're dealing with. Understand those marks before too much time passes. The world you walk in is a lot scarier than any of you really know."

"That's it?" Dean clenched his jaw, frustrated with Hermes disruptive appearance. "Vague warnings and you staring us down for an hour before Harry got home?"

"Yeah, pretty much that's it. I'll be popping in every now and then to make sure you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. I might be asking a few things of each of you here and there but right now, the favor I'm asking of you is just research. Plain and simple. There was no reason to be so angry with me."

"Right, no reason." Sam bit into his lip as he nodded.

"Oh and Sam it would be most beneficial if you could find these books." Hermes grabbed a pen and some paper scribbling out a few titles and author names that Sam recognized in passing from Bobby's demonology texts. "They'll be a great help. Watch out for werewolves yeah? Nasty creatures that like to take a chomp out of pale humans."

Dean looked back and forth from Sam and Harry before looking back at the spot where Hermes was and finding it empty. "He can't just fucking do that."

"He just did, Dean." Harry patted Dean on the shoulder. "He just did."


	25. Chapter 25

After Hermes impromptu visit Sam spent the next two weeks either on the phone trying to get a hold of the books the messenger had mentioned it might be a good idea to locate or he was hidden away reading the books that they actually had in the house. It was bad enough that the visit had them all on edge but the fact that Sam was spending days in his own little world trying to find answers in his books and researching in his every spare moment made everything tenser in the house.

Harry rested his cheek between Sam's shoulder blades and listened to his muffled voice and the beat of his heart as he finished up another phone call, "Thanks, if you hear anything about it would you let me know? I appreciate it."

As soon as Sam set the phone down on the counter top Harry wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and soaked up the warmth from the taller hunter, "You can take a break you know. Hermes didn't say we had to know all of this immediately. He just said it would be good to know and to have these books."

"I just think it's better to be prepared rather than not," Sam sunk back into Harry's arms with a sigh. "I was hoping that finding these books would make everything a lot easier than it has been."

"It's never that easy. Plus you're not in this by yourself Sam. You've got both me and Dean trying to help you but you don't seem to want to let us." Harry muttered and pulled away from Sam. Sam's mouth dropped open in shock from Harry's words but the shorter hunter continued on, "Bobby called earlier. He said something about werewolves in Texas that needed taking care of. Funny how Hermes seemed to know all about them."

"This can't be good," Sam swiped a hand over his lips and took a deep breath. "If we've got Hermes warning us, okay teasing about werewolves, and then out of the blue we have a hunt in Texas? This isn't a good thing and you know it. There's got to be more to it."

"Well," Harry shrugged, "We're going to have to find out. Dean's already getting some of the supplies we need. We leave tomorrow morning and we should get there sometime around late evening or so."

"Bobby already knows exactly what we're looking at?"

"Not exactly but we're almost one hundred percent positive that we've got two werewolves, not any other crazy variation like a rougarou."

"So this is your standard issue werewolf." Sam let out a deep breath and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Now that you've said that it's probably got some legend behind it or some crazy myth that proves differently. Thanks for that one, Sam."

"You know what I mean."

"And you know what I mean. You're worrying over nothing!" Harry squeezed Sam's shoulder, "Now go make dinner. It's your night to do so. At least you can take a break from your research to do that."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sam's still obsessing?" Dean asked as he passed over a soapy plate for Harry to rinse clean.

"You could say that. And now he's worried about the hunt tomorrow," Harry set the plate down in the drying rack before looking over at Dean. "I mean I can't really blame him with Hermes showing up but seriously he needs to calm down just a little. I know he's worried about what could happen but he needs to be here. You know what I mean?"

"You tell him that?" Dean asked with a raised brow.

"And how would you put it Dean?" Harry snorted as he reached for another soapy plate, "Sam, stop being such a jackass because you're worrying too much. It's not like I can die and come back to life again. Yeah that would work out so well."

"Point," Dean agreed. "Sam's going to always worry, emo, be a little bitch about things like this. It's how he is."

"It's just," Harry let out a breathy sigh, "He's wearing himself out when he doesn't need to. Like with this book thing. He can sleep at night, you know. He doesn't have to have them all read by a certain day. He doesn't even see that we're here helping him. He needs to stop and take care of himself instead of worrying about what could happen."

"Then," Dean licked his lips in thought for a second and smirked to himself, "Never mind."

Harry narrowed his eyes and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Then what? What were you going to suggest I do?"

"Make him get some rest. That's as far as I'm going to go with that one." Dean cupped Harry's face in his hands and laid a lingering kiss on soft lips. "Don't really want to cross more lines than we already have."

Harry chuckled finally catching on to Dean's suggestion. The soft chuckle that had escaped Harry's lips soon turned into full blown laughter as he pulled away from Dean. "Only you would suggest something like that."

"It would work!" Dean called down the hall after Harry, "You and I both know that it would!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The drive into Texas was tense and boring. Sam spent the entire drive with his nose buried in a book while Dean drove with Harry stretched out on the backseat wondering if he really should have listened to what Dean was saying last night.

"Learn anything new and exciting Sam?" Dean asked with just a hint of sarcasm laid beneath his words.

"It isn't really anything we didn't know before hand," Sam answered with a jaw popping yawn. "I'm not really sure why Hermes wanted us to read these books. It just all seems pointless and repetitive. It's like we've read all this information before."

"Maybe it seems pointless because you're reading them all like your life depends on what you're reading in them right this second." Dean snapped and grabbed the book out of Sam's hands to toss it into the backseat. Harry let out a gasp when the book landed on his stomach. "Get some fucking sleep before we get there, Sam! We're hunting tonight and I don't need to be watching out for a sloppy hunter because you're too damn tired to keep your eyes open."

"If you two would help me with the research I wouldn't be this tired."

"If you would have noticed Harry and I have both been reading but we aren't killing ourselves with it. We aren't sequestering ourselves off in the house just because we're worried about what could happen. We do happen to live in the present not the future, Sam. There are three of us and the past week you've made it two of us. You aren't included in that figure at the moment. So get your shit together, Sam. I don't want to have to clean up or burn bones because you were being stupid tonight."

The Impala settled into a terse silence as the sounds of the road filtered through the car. Harry looked between the brothers trying to figure out who he should reach out to but in the end he decided on watching the cracked pavement and grass go by.

"I won't go through that again," Sam's voice was soft. "I still see it every night and I thought I was okay but I still see what it did to you and what it felt like for those few minutes Harry wasn't here. I can't do it again. So I'm doing the only thing I can to make sure we avoid it at all costs."

Harry rested his hand along the back of Sam's neck as a silent offer of comfort as Dean spoke, "Yeah but what about if something happened to you tonight because you're being careless? Don't you think we're worried about the same thing? It would hurt us just as bad."

"So get your head out of your ass and get in the game Sam," Dean bit down on his lip before he let out a heavy sigh. "I can't deal with all these chick flick moments that keep popping up out of nowhere and I swear I've come this close to having a few my self. So please can we figure this out before the hunt?"

Harry rolled his lips together trying his best not to laugh at Dean's outburst and he buried his head in the back of the seat.

"This," Dean pointed back at Harry through the rearview mirror at Harry's bowed head, "Isn't funny. At all."

"It kind of is," Sam grinned over at Dean. He pinched his fingers together mocking his brother, "This close to a chick flick moment? Must have killed you when you realized you said that out loud man."

Dean swatted Sam's hand out of his line of view and rolled his eyes, "So are you going to get your head out of your ass anytime soon? Because Bobby did say these monsters were vicious, liked to gnaw on little kids for breakfast kind of vicious."

"Yeah," Sam ducked his head, "I got the message loud and clear."

"Good because Harry is going to be checking the bodies at the morgue just to be sure that we are looking at a werewolf and you and I are heading out to talk with some of the families."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't understand why you need to see the bodies Agent Evans," Harry rolled his eyes as he pocketed the badge and followed the flowing lab coat and clicking heels down the hallway. "It's pretty obvious that it is an animal attack. We're just waiting on the tech to come back with results saying what kind of animal, coyote or what."

"It's just procedure," Harry reassured the woman with a small smile, "We've had a few other cases like this and they just want them all documented."

She shouldered through the doorway and gestured for Harry to go ahead before she flipped through a couple of files and headed over to the corresponding drawers. "Here are the files and the bodies are there, there, and here."

"Gloves?" Harry asked wiggling his fingers and she pointed to a box stationed on the wall. Harry scrunched his nose up at the first sight of the body. The scratches went down across the woman's shoulders and there were bite marks littering her skin. Harry bent lower to get a better look at the teeth marks and frowned. He moved on to the next body and grimaced. The scratches and the bites were worse then the first victim's.

"The strangest thing is the heart is missing on all of them."

"That's why we're interested," Harry murmured to himself as he moved on to the next body. After looking at the bite marks he immediately moved to compare them with the first and second victims. The bite marks were different. The incisors were wider, more pronounced than on the first victims. There was a jagged crook on one of the edges where a tooth was probably chipped off. Harry bit into his lip and looked up at the girl who was watching him with unabashed curiosity.

"Is there anyone I could get a copy of these files? Pictures of these bite marks"

"Sure." She shrugged as Harry pulled his gloves off and tossed them in the trash. "I already had someone start making a copy for me when you showed up. Just head up to the front desk and they'll have the files and photos ready for you."

"Thanks," Harry grinned up at her. "I appreciate it."

"Not a problem. If you need anything else just let us know." Harry nodded as he headed through the hallway up towards the front. He plucked his phone out of his pocket and dialed Dean's phone. He set his badge on the counter and it sent the guy behind the desk scrambling as Harry waited for Dean to pick up.

"What did you get?"

"There's more than one of them," Harry grabbed the files that were slid over to him with a wide smile. He gave a nod of thanks as he mindlessly flipped straight to the photos as he headed out the building, "and they are big if the size of their teeth are anything to go by."

"How many of them are there?" Dean asked slightly out of breath.

"Why do I get the feeling that you already know that there are more than one werewolf out there and you are running for cover?" Harry let out a sigh glanced down the sidewalk as he headed towards the motel at a steady clip.

"Might be because me and Sam are running from one of these beasts!"

"It's," Harry looked up at the sky and then checked his watch as he started to run towards the motel, "Not even seven o'clock. There is still sun in the sky!"

"I can see that!" Dean yelled, "What do you expect me to do Sherlock?"

"Kill it!" Harry suggested as he jammed the key into the motel door and slammed it open.

"Trying!"

"Where are you?" Harry dug through his duffle bag and grabbed the clip full of silver bullets and loaded his gun. He was already running out the door with coat tails flying behind him as the door slammed when Dean answered him.

"Five blocks from the motel, Eason Street."

"I'm running," Harry huffed out.

"You'll hear us before you find us," Dean grunted out before the connection clicked off. Harry was sliding around a corner and he came face to face with snarling teeth.

"Why's it always me?" Harry frowned before Sam let out a wild yell and the werewolf took off in the opposite direction. "You idiot."

Harry trailed after the sounds of gunshots and yelling. He came up on the sight of Dean firing round after round into the hide of a werewolf as Sam curled into himself with his arms covering his face. Both Harry and Dean pulled the human body of the werewolf off of Sam and Harry's eyes widened, "What the hell?"

"Ate pavement," Dean explained as they worked Sam up off the ground, "And got swatted around. No bites thought."

"And he was worried about me," Harry rolled his eyes, "You two need to worry about yourselves."

"Just, stay with him while I go get the car."

"Hurry up," Harry grunted when Dean let all of Sam's weight rest on Harry, "Me and Sam get caught with Mr. Furry here we're going to get sent to jail, not you."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean waved a hand over his shoulder and headed off in a jog.

Harry looked up at Sam's bloodied face, "You're an idiot you know that, right?"

"Nope," Sam shook his head with a grim smile, "I'm a genius."

"You keep believing that," Harry let out a sigh when Dean parked the Impala on the curb and they shuffled Sam into the backseat of the car.

"Don't bleed on the seats, Sam."

"Try my best," Sam croaked out and Harry muffled a laugh as Dean sped through the streets. Getting Sam into their room was a task but Dean quirked a brow at the state of disarray.

"Someone was in a rush," Dean gestured to the files and Harry's bag that was strewn across the room.

"Possibly," Harry shrugged and dug out the first aide kit, "Lets clean Sasquatch up."

"Not a Sasquatch." Sam pointed at Harry.

"Yeah," Dean snorted as he pulled Sam's boots off, "Compared to Harry, you are."

"Where do you think you're sleeping tonight, Dean?" Harry asked as he wiped a warm clothe over Sam's face and switched to alcohol swabs, "Sorry Sam, it's gonna burn like a bitch."

"Had worse."

"Mhm," Harry scrunched his nose up at one of the cuts on Sam's face. "Do we have butterfly bandages in the kit, Dean?"

"Yep," Dean pressed a few into Harry palm and watched him work. "Bad?"

"Better safe than sorry," Harry answered. "Wrap his wrist and I'll check his chest to make sure he's good."

"What did you find out?" Dean asked as he worked the ace bandage around Sam's right wrist. "Besides the fact that there is more than one werewolf and that they're huge."

"The photos show that there were at least two, I needed more time to compare the wounds." Harry answered as he ran his fingers over Sam's ribs and ignored the way Sam's body seemed to rise into his touch.

"So we killed one," Dean looked up at Sam, "And me and Sasquatch here found three separate sets of human footprints to crazy ass paw prints. I'm thinking there are only three of these Godzilla wolves running around. What about you?"

"I'm with Dean on this one," Sam rolled onto his side and blinked. "Two, maybe three of them."

"Need to see those pictures, the bite marks might help give us an idea," Dean rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"If we go back out tonight Sam's out of the picture," Harry pressed a hand to Sam's unmarred cheek before standing. "We might run into one of them but if they see that one of their wolves are gone chances are they're going to hole up for the night. It'll be hard to find them tomorrow night too."

"Need to know what we're going after before getting trapped," Dean let out a sigh and grabbed the photos. "Or worse."

Harry flipped off the overhead lights and switched on the lamp. He pointed to one set of teeth marks, "This is one wolf," and then he pointed to another, "This is a different set."

"Vicious looking guy," Dean hummed as he leaned closer to the photo, "Wonder if his teeth are chipped like this in human form or if it's just a wolf form kind of thing?"

"Wouldn't know," Harry answered as he slid two pictures over for Dean to look at, "But I do know that he killed the third victim, not the first two."

"Why?" Dean rolled his lips together, "Why kill the third guy but not the first two?"

"No idea." Harry yawned.

"Tomorrow night we'll figure it out." Dean shrugged out of his jacket, "If we don't we have to wait until next month."

"A couple hours of rest, we can stop by the morgue again tomorrow and maybe we'll get something more to go on for tomorrow night." Harry shuffled over towards the bed Sam had already sprawled out on.

"Sounds like a plan," Dean answered with a nod, "Maybe we should call Bobby. Just to see what he thinks about it all."


	26. Chapter 26

Sam watched Harry move around the room in sleep pants with hooded eyes. Dean was gone and Harry was digging through the first aid kit laying fresh bandages out across the table before he mumbled something to himself and disappeared into the bathroom. He came back out with a towel and set it next to the rest of his supplies.

After a few moments Harry turned towards the bed and Sam closed his eyes. He listened as Harry made his way over. His hands moved slowly across uninjured skin before resting low on his hip. "Sam, you've got to wake up. We've got work to do."

"Looks more like wound cleaning," Sam murmured before rolling in towards Harry.

"That too," Harry nodded as he reached towards the night stand and started working. He ignored the soft hisses that escaped Sam's lips. "We'll leave those bandages alone but I need to check your ribs and that wrist."

Harry's hands wandered up under Sam's shirt. He let his fingertips feel out any irregularities before he applied pressure and watched Sam's face for any sign of discomfort. "Anything?"

"Nothing." Sam whispered.

Harry caught Sam's eyes and sat frozen from the intensity in his eyes. It felt like it had been so long since Sam had looked at him with anything other than worry or fear Harry wasn't sure what to do. He swallowed and brushed his fingers along the jut of Sam's hips before he leaned forward and set his hands on either side of Sam's face. He watched Sam's eyes darken and he gave in as he dipped down to catch Sam's lips with his own.

The heat of Sam's hands was a welcome presence along his side and his jaw as Sam coaxed the kiss deeper. Harry melted into it, taking what he had been missing. The tiny sound of a phone ringing had Harry tearing his lips from Sam's as he eyed the offending object. Sam tugged Harry back down for a kiss muttering, "Ignore it."

"Can't," Harry responded before reaching out and grabbing the phone. He rolled to the side of the bed and took a deep breath before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Dude, please tell me you were not making out with Sam when we are in the middle of a crazy ass case."

"So what did you find?" Harry wiped a hand over his lips waiting for Dean to start talking rather than huffing into the phone.

"What I found was another dead person."

"Fuck," Harry stood up already grabbing at the suit he set over a chair in the room. "Are you still at the scene?"

"Mhm and it would be most beneficial if you would get your ass over here."

"Address?"

"Eason Street. You can't miss it," Harry could see Dean's grimace. "Guess even though he didn't eat one of us he still found someone else to chow down on."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Tell Sam to research the victims. See if we can connect them in anyway before you head over. At least he can do that while we're here."

"Sure," Harry tossed the phone back on the bed and Sam the frustration lining Sam's face. "You up for some more in depth research? We got another victim."

"Great," Sam let out a sigh and started getting ready for another shitty day.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry saw Dean talking with the local police so he headed for the woman he met at the morgue. She was busy working with crime scene techs to document the scene before they got ready to transfer the body. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Agent Evans," She scrunched her nose up at Harry's appearance. "I didn't expect to see you so soon again."

"Well, my partner over there got the call this morning so here I am," Harry nodded in Dean's direction. "Looks the same as the other victims I was checking out yesterday."

"It does," She nodded, "But I won't know for sure until the autopsy is finished."

"That's how it always goes," Harry nodded. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he rolled his eyes. Dean was ready to head out. "Give me a call when I can head in to get a copy of your report and look at the body myself?"

"Sure thing, Agent."

Harry walked shoulder to shoulder with Dean after ducking beneath the yellow crime scene tape. "So what did you find out?"

"John Bernice, died earlier this morning and he just turned twenty four last week. He was ID'd on the scene by a local cop who promptly lost his breakfast after realizing who it was. Next door neighbors or something. Anyways, the kid doesn't have any known enemies and he never makes it to this part of town. Whatever that means. The locals aren't too fond of me for some reason."

Harry looked around and he couldn't spot anything that would give the place a bad reputation. It wasn't the nicest of neighborhoods but it wasn't anything worth complaining about. Other than a couple of other deaths that happened recently the place was okay.

"Alright, well as soon as it's possible I'll be getting a copy of the autopsy report and in to see the body which will be cleaned up a bit."

Dean closed his eyes before looking over at Harry, "Looked pretty bad, huh? Worse than the others?"

"I'd say so. It looked angry." Harry bit on his bottom lip. "Guess we should go and see if Sam found anything and maybe scrounge up something for a late lunch?"

"Yeah, maybe he's had more luck than either of us. He might have run across something about this part of town. Whatever the fuck that means anymore." Dean rolled his eyes as he slid into the Impala.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They found Sam sitting in front of a microfiche and his notes scattered along the desk beside him. His knee was bouncing as he slid through the old newspaper articles.

"Find anything?" Dean asked as he pulled up a chair. His eyes trying to keep up with the speed Sam was skimming over the material.

"The three victims all went to a support group that was held on Eason Street." Sam answered. "That's what connecting them. What makes this even more interesting, if you could call it that, is that each person of said support group is slowly being picked off. I haven't fond anything out about that part of town though."

"How do you know who was in the support group?" Harry asked when Dean asked seconds later, "What kind of support group?"

"It was a support group for recovering drug addicts." Sam answered. "And I know because the advisor was fine with giving names out since most of them were getting killed."

"You happen to know if a John Bernice was part of this group." Dean asked as he chewed on the end of his fingernail.

"For a little while yeah, at least that's what the sponsor, Lindy Matthews told me."

"What do you say we give this Lindy a visit?"

"Uh," Sam scratched his head and looked over towards Harry. "Harry probably already has."

The reaction was simultaneous from both Harry and Dean, "What?"

"She works over at the morgue."

"Well hell," Dean scratched at the back of his neck. "Another reason for the locals to not like us. Saying one of them might have had something to do with this."

"I'll talk to her," Harry shrugged. "What's does she do over there?"

"She's the direct assistant to the coroner." Sam shrugged. "I'm guessing she does all the grunt work and probably knows a hell of a lot more about this case than the actual coroner does."

"Right, so we've got a werewolf who has a taste for recovering junkies." Dean rolled his eyes. "I thought I had seen em' all. A righteous werewolf? That's just fucking creepy."

"You think it's her?" Harry asked. He had been with her a few minutes before Sam and Dean got in over their heads. It could be possible.

"You said there was more than one of them. It's possible. Even if you were with her, she would have had enough time to catch up to us. Faster on four legs than two. It won't hurt to check her out."

"Guess I'll do that. See if any names pop up, rattle her a bit and see if I can test her."

"Hey," Dean swatted Sam on the shoulder. "Are you sure that you haven't found anything out about Eason street? You know other than the fact that there was a support group for recovering drug addicts that met over there?"

"Other than a few overdoses, or accidental deaths, there wasn't anything interesting. The place is pretty empty. I even noticed that last night."

"Maybe the people who left town were on to something," Dean muttered. "Right, well you ready for some grub?"

"Yeah I could go for some food."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry walked the hallways of the morgue. He was heading towards the office that the receptionist pointed him towards when the name plate Lindy Matthews caught his attention. He heard soft classical music drifting from beneath the door when he knocked. The music shut off instantly and the door opened. Harry frowned in confusion. Lindy Matthews was the same woman he had been talking to since arriving.

"Agent Potter," She stepped back to let him through. "I wasn't expecting you until I finished up with everything."

"Well I've gotten some information I need to speak with you about." Harry took a seat that she gestured towards.

"I spoke to an Agent this afternoon, right after getting the body to the morgue. It was surprising to say he actually found me." She gave a sad smile before pushing dark locks behind her ears.

"We are good at our jobs," Harry answered.

"So what do you want to know?"

"A support group for recovering drug addicts is slowly being picked off one by one. Surely you see where I'm going to be going with this, don't you?"

"Yes, I do but we both see the evidence plain as day. Each of the members from the group that have been killed was killed by an animal attack. So why you are here speaking with me doesn't make any sense."

"Animals don't chew out an entire chest cavity," Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You don't have any kind of scavenger that would in these parts. Coyotes would maul limbs, eat at that but they aren't going to chew through bones unless the body was already rotting and they were starving. Up north somewhere I could believe it. Bigger and wilder game. Here? Not so much."

"What are you suggesting?"

Harry's eyes narrowed at the way her entire body tensed with the question. "What I'm suggesting is that you know something more than what you're putting in those reports. You made the connection between each of those victims and didn't report it to the investigating detectives. Which, might I add is part of your duty here. You let them bumble around like idiots. So what do you think I'm suggesting?"

"That I need a lawyer the next I speak with you. I'll courier the file to you Agent Potter."

Harry stood up at her dismissal with a card in hand. He placed it in her palm and felt a twist of satisfaction swirl in his gut when the silver of his ring made her hiss in response.

"I'll be seeing you soon Miss Mathews."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean had take-out waiting on the table when Harry made it back to the motel room. He was busy making sure they were ready for nightfall. Silver bullets littered the table as he loaded them into empty clips.

"She's a werewolf." Harry frowned as he started eating the chicken. "I think she knows it. So if we get her address and watch her will get her and the last one and be down with this damn place."

"Already got it," Sam spoke from the bed, "It went that badly?"

"She didn't report the links between the victims. She's probably even left out information in her reports."

"Well, we won't have to worry about her after tonight," Dean shrugged. "She'll be long gone."

Harry wiped his hands clean from the food and stood up. "I'm going to change and then we need to head out. There's no telling when she's going to change."

It didn't take long, waiting outside of Lindy Matthews house. Around six thirty they could hear screams from inside before something tore out from the back yard of her house.

"Check the house," Dean grunted, "Me and Sam will follow that thing."

Harry was barely out of the Impala before Dean was tearing from the curb and down the street after the black mass they were pretty sure they all had seen. Her house was easy to navigate. He was through it within minutes and heading in the direction Dean had driven in when he heard it. It was the distinct snarl of a werewolf. Harry turned to see a mass of monster waiting him out, challenging him to be the first to make a move.

"Lindy?" Harry breathed out. When the wolf gave a vicious snarl and bared its teeth Harry knew he had the right person. He lunged towards the werewolf, catching her off guard as he moved. He had fired off a few rounds and missed her completely as she moved. He tracked her progress trying to figure out where she was going before he decided running was a much better option.

Harry moved through yards full of children's toys. He slipped through a loose board in a fence before the werewolf plowed through it behind him. Pinpricks of pain shot through his back as he kept running. He saw the Impala pull up a few houses down before both Dean and Sam were leveling guns towards him.

"Down!" Dean's voice drifted through the air and Harry tumbled towards the ground and bursts of gunfire exploded. He was crawling towards the Impala when Sam shouted, "Harry, move!"

Within seconds he was being pulled backwards. He twisted over to see the bloodied front of the wolf but human like hands pulling him. Harry fired shot directly towards its head before rolling out of the way of a falling monster. His eyes were wide as he stared at the werewolf turning into the nude form of Lindy Matthews.

Two sets of hands were tugging him to his feet, "Come on man, we got to get out of here."

"The other one?" Harry asked.

"Dean killed him," Sam pushed Harry into the backseat of the Impala and Dean started driving.

"You okay?" Harry asked them.

"Banged up." Dean answered as he looked into the rearview mirror and at Harry. "No bites?"

"None," Harry shook his head.

"Thank fuck." Dean muttered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam was out for the count and Dean was putting their guns away by the time Harry managed to use and get out of the shower.

"Ready to go home?" Dean tilted his head back to focus on Harry.

"Understatement," Harry answered as he tugged on a pair of sleep pants and searched for a shirt. He pulled it on to still see Dean watching him. "You?"

"Anywhere is better than Texas. I don't see what the hype is all about." Dean grinned as Harry moved over and placed his hands along his cheeks, fingers curling beneath his chin.

"Another state," Harry shrugged before he leaned down to press his lips against Dean's. He sighed against Dean's lips when the hunter urged for something more. Harry gave in. He could feel Dean's breaths against the tender skin of his neck. The twin sensations made his blood run hot. He pulled back and stared into Dean's mossy green eyes. His voice was rough when he spoke, "Good night Dean."

"Tease," Dean whispered as he watched Harry burrow beneath the covers in the middle of the bed. He didn't waste much time following after Harry, wrapping an arm around his waist. Sam let out a sleepy sigh before turning towards them and pressing a kiss to Harry's lips. "Stop flirting. Wait until we get home."

Harry grinned at the way Sam's foot brushed at his ankle and settled there. This was how it was supposed to be, how it should be. Dean, Harry and Sam. Not just two of them, not the incessant worrying of what was about to happen next. Just the warm comfort of being together. God he couldn't wait to be home.


	27. Chapter 27

The house was quiet. The only sounds that kept Harry company was the rain drops pitter-pattering on the windows and the soft sounds of a blade being pulled across a whetstone. He didn't mind being home by himself though. The heat grew more intense with humidity, and the air grew heavy as they made their way back from Texas.

Going through their usual routine of making sure all weapons were clean, well kept and the rest of their supplies were in good shape was harder with the rain and the heat pressing against their skin. Dean wouldn't stop moving and Sam kept checking and rechecking the same guns over because he lost his concentration. After an hour or so Harry banished them to go restock on salt, lighter fluid or what ever odds and ends caught their eye.

Harry had managed to tuck the guns back in place and was putting the finishing touches on the knife that had grown too dull to be considered safe to be brought along on a hunt.

The sound of the blade being pulled across the whetstone was soothing. It pulled Harry's thoughts to the way Sam and Dean had acted in the Impala during the drive home. Sam had sat shotgun to Dean but faced them both. His arm draped over the seat and he fingers continuously brushed across what ever part of Harry he could manage to touch. If Sam's fingertips dragging along his thigh was enough to drive him crazy then the looks that Dean sent through the rear view mirror was pushing Harry to the limit.

The intimacy between the three of them that had been interrupted due to Hermes' presence was back in place and it was hard to ignore. As much as Harry didn't want to ignore the feelings pulsing from them, all any of them had the energy for after a ten hour drive was to fall into bed.

Waking up, well Harry expected it to be a little more eventful but both Sam and Dean were set up at the table already working. The temptation to knock the weapons from the table and to the floor but the reality of doing that would probably be just about as dangerous as handling an angry ghost. It would definitely spark a fire in Dean.

Instead he took up residence next to the window and started working himself. At least until Dean's incessant tapping began to drive him insane and Sam's bouts of stillness had him kicking them out to grab the supplies they were low on.

Harry stood up, stretching out the kinks in his back before carefully sheathing the knife and putting it away. Looking at the clock Harry let out a soft sigh. He probably had enough time to shower before they got back. The thought of warm water against the fatigued muscles in his arms and shoulder sounded amazing.

After double checking that doors were locked Harry padded down the hallway and through their bedroom to the bath. He turned the shower on and let steam slowly fill the room before undressing and stepping under the spray of water.

He rested a hand along the tile of the shower, his eyes watching soap suds swirl at the drain before he let his other hand drift along soap slicked skin, finger nails scratching lightly over his navel. The rush of arousal had his lips dropping open and taking in shallow breaths. He heard the snick of the bathroom door opening and he looked over with dark emerald eyes. Sam stood stock still clutching at the door frame and his eyes focused on the path that Harry's hand could take.

Sam was moving the few steps separating them pulling his shirts off and letting them fall wherever. Harry watched the way Sam pulled his belt loose and pushed his jeans past his hips. Harry stepped back and the water sluiced down his chest as Sam stepped into the shower. Every sense of calm shattered as Sam pressed Harry against the wall of the shower covering Harry's lips with his own. Sam weaved his fingers through Harry's hair and tugged the moist strand to tilt Harry's face upwards so he could taste more, take more from him.

Harry's fingers dug into the grooves of Sam's hips as he pressed closer; a hand dropping to follow the curve of Sam's ass. He swallowed down the moan that escaped Sam's lips. It was getting harder to breath. Harry let his head fall back and clutched at Sam to keep upright. His fingernails dug into Sam's waist, scraping red lines up and down moist flesh.

Sam pressed his lips against Harry's neck. His tongue snaked out from between his lips, tasting the skin bared before him. He laved and nipped at the same spot until he could see a bruise forming.

Lips brushed tauntingly against lips. Their hips rocked against each other and thick moans filled the room.

Catching movement in the doorway, Harry melted under Sam's touches and from seeing Dean leaning against the counter top, his fingers dipping below the waistband of his jeans and his eyes darker than Harry had ever seen. The sheer need in Dean's eyes sent a jolt of want down Harry's spin. He fumbled to gain some kind of control over Sam, to actually get out of the shower and to Dean, but Sam wasn't having it. Sam pressed Harry against the warm tiles of the shower and nudged his legs wider.

Harry let out a moan as he pressed his cheek against the wall. The twin sensations of Sam's fingers dragging lower, teasing him along with the image of Dean thumbing open his jeans and his hand disappearing beneath the denim and zipper of his jeans left Harry breathless.

Sam's hand working Harry into a frenzy and the sounds of Dean's soft whimpers brought Harry further and further to the edge. The muscles in his thighs were burning, the muscles in his stomach curling tight and loosening just as quickly. The moment Dean let out a breathy moan Harry was gone and boneless in Sam's.

"God I missed this," Sam murmured just before he placed a languid kiss to Harry's lips. "I missed you so much."

Harry panted as he stared up at Sam then his eyes slid to the now vacant bathroom counter and back towards Sam, "Let that be a lesson to you. I'm here. Don't waste that time."

"Never again."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sheets were cool and looked as though they hadn't been slept in on Dean's side of the bed. Soft sounds echoed from the kitchen and into their room.

"Dean?" Sam mumbled sleepily as he rolled to his stomach.

"Yeah," Harry stretched his legs out before crawling out of the bed and wandering down the hallway. Dean was bathed in soft light from the light above the sink as he munched on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Harry stood watching Dean stare out the window for a few minutes before he knocked the side of his foot against the cabinets.

Dean spun around, sandwich in hand, "What are you doing up?"

"Heard you moving around, it looked like you didn't even bother going to bed." Harry eyed the space separating them but didn't close it. He waited for Dean to say something, to do anything.

"Figured," Dean started but waved the thought off and took a bite of his sandwich again. He stared at his feet as he chewed, "Just wasn't tired."

"Yeah?" Harry folded his arms across his bare chest. "I don't find myself believing that but if that's the story you're going to spin then that's fine."

"You and Sam," Dean shook his head. "It's, I just figured you didn't want me there. That's all."

Harry couldn't help his reaction to Dean's blushing. His lips quirked upwards and he shook his head. "You think we wouldn't want you there?"

"It looked like it," Dean tossed his half-eaten sandwich onto the counter and smacked his hands together to get rid of lingering crumbs. "Just didn't want to get in the way. Not my place."

"You'd never get in the way. You have to know that. You," Harry rubbed his hands up and down his arms, "You're just as important to me as Sam is. Never think any different."

Dean nodded slowly before he went back to his sandwich. Harry finally crossed the space that kept them apart. He placed a soft kiss to Dean's shoulder before turning to head back to the bedroom. The soft whisper uttered from Dean's lips had Harry stopping in his place, "Sometimes it's just good to hear it."

"You are important to me and I'd do anything for you." Harry rolled his lips together, "I probably wouldn't know what to without you."

A quick smile graced Dean's lips but disappeared just as quickly. Almost as if he didn't believe Harry.

"Come to bed?" Harry held a hand out and waited for Dean to think it over. The peanut butter sandwich was left forgotten on the counter as Dean twined his fingers together with Harry's.

Harry pulled Dean's arm around middle and nuzzled against Sam's back as they lay together in bed. He could feel Dean's heart beating against his back and he could hear Sam's heartbeat just as strong.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Isn't this a cozy sight," Hermes smirked at the three hunters from where he had perched himself at the foot of the bed. Dean was the first to react to the new presence. He reached for the closest weapon while Sam scrambled to the floor and Harry pressed further back against the headboard behind Dean. Hermes rolled his eyes and grinned at the trio, "Oh like you weren't expecting me to show up sooner rather than later."

"It was more like hoping you had forgotten about us," Dean snarked right back at Hermes. "What is it this time?"

"Well my lovelies," Hermes inspected his fingernails as he spoke, "There is a demon problem up in Washington. They're gathering for some reason and we can't seem to get to the bottom of it. That's where you come in."

There was a collective sigh around the room. Demons. They could handle demons.

"The thing is," Hermes started and Dean let out an audible groan. Of course there would be some kind of catch to this. "That's where Hades resides at the moment. And certain demons should be under his control and aren't. We don't necessarily want you to bust in their exorcisms blazing."

"Then what exactly do you expect us to do?" Sam sputtered out. "We're hunters. We get rid of demons, no matter who they belong to. So what is it you're expecting us to do for you?"

"Find the demon causing dissension in the ranks and kill it." Hermes shrugged. "I don't know. That's why you'll be meeting Hades. He will be able to tell you a little better than I would. I know I'm supposed to be the all amazing messenger but these days, messages get filtered down a lot of times. So I don't know exactly what he wants you to do but I do know that he has requested your presence."

"I," Dean shook his head, "You're asking me to deal with the Greek god of Hell? After I've been there. You've got to be kidding me."

Sam reached out to Dean, his hand gripping his brother's shoulder tightly. "We don't have to do this."

"Ah," Hermes' smile turned vile, "That's where you would be wrong."

The arrow that had been forgotten on their skin began to burn furiously. Harry was the only of the three that stood silently. Sam and Dean both hissed in pain. "Hades' call will be much worse than anything I can do. The longer you ignore it, the more those marks will hurt and the higher the possibility that the gift given to Harry will be taken away."

With the threat of Harry's life on the table their minds changed quickly. Dean spit out a furious agreement. Hermes disappeared from the room with a pop leaving a piece of paper in his wake. Dean snatched it up and rolled his eyes. "Four days. That's how long we have before meeting Hades."

Huffing out an aggravated sigh Harry headed for the closet, "Then we need to start packing. It's a long drive and we don't have much time to waste."

"Fucking gods," Dean muttered as he tossed his knife to the bed, "Think they can run your whole life."


	28. Chapter 28

The drive to Seattle was one of the longest drives Harry had ever made to take for a hunt. They spent three days of driving, with the only breaks for meals and finding a safe spot to rest for the night. They spent three days of wondering what kind of trouble they were going to get into having to deal with Hades, not sure of how to get in contact with the God.

Harry and Sam spent a large amount of their time in the passenger seat worried about Dean and what this case might end up doing to him. Hell wasn't something that you just got over. The feeling, the fear and the darkness stayed with you and sometimes took over everything that made you human.

Seattle wasn't going to be an easy place to be in, knowing what lay in the recesses of the city. The air was cold, damp and a little bit too foggy when they finally made it into the city and found a motel to check in for the duration of the hunt. Harry's breath was visible with every exhalation as he made his way to the office.

"What can I do for you today?" The woman, Harry could squint and still see her as a teenager beneath the make-up, had her bright red hair up in a messy bun on top of her head and she was marking her spot in a textbook.

"Do you have a room available with two beds?" Harry checked over his shoulder to see Sam and Dean still sitting in the warmth of the Impala.

"We have a room available. I just need a credit card and your license." She reached out to grab the proffered items and set about clicking and tapping at the computer in front of her. Within a minute she handed Harry's credit card and license over along with a key for a room. "Room 109, it's the one furthest back. It's all we had with two beds."

Harry gave her a smile, "Not a problem."

"Oh!" She clapped her hands together and ducked her head in embarrassment at the enthusiasm, "Sorry about that. We just got some vending machines, they're right in the middle of the walk way."

"Thanks," Harry nodded before he tucked his hands back into the pockets of his jacket and braved the cold air outside. He scooted into the Impala and directed Dean towards the back of the parking lot. They were quick getting everything into the room and the heater started up in hopes that it wouldn't take long for the heat to warm the freezing room.

"Sow long do you think it'll be before the man in charge gets in contact with us?" Dean asked as he shoved a bag beneath the bed before flopping down across the mattress. "Cause I got to say, three days in the Impala, as much as I love my baby, kind of zapped the energy right out of me."

"Same," Sam let out a heavy yawn as he dug through his bag and grabbed his shave kit and headed into the bathroom.

"He'll find us when he's ready," Harry offered, "Hopefully he doesn't take his sweet time because I would like to be done with this place sooner rather than later. My bones don't like the cold."

Dean rolled over on his stomach and looked up at Harry, "You say that now but in a few days you'll be cursing the thought of Hades not taking his sweet time."

Harry rolled his lips together trying to piece together words he wanted to ask Dean. He wanted to make sure Dean was doing all right with what was going on, that he wasn't messed up about everything. He wasn't sure of the most tactful approach of doing so that Dean wouldn't get offended at him even asking.

"You okay with us being here?" Harry asked and Dean snorted.

"I have to be okay with being here, don't I?" Dean rubbed at his eyes and looked towards the bathroom where the shower clicked on and he let out a sigh. There were things Dean didn't like admitting to in front of Sam. The big brother needing to protect the little brother from everything, not showing weakness tended to win over in Dean.

"I don't have any other choice."

Harry licked his lips and nodded before he sat on the bed beside Dean. He let his hand rest between Dean's shoulder blades a moment before standing back up, "Just, I'm here."

Harry didn't bother waiting for a response from Dean. Instead he grabbed the keys off the night stand and muttered the he was going to pick up something to eat for the night.

They had been at the motel for three days, bored out of their minds and trying to research something they hadn't much to go on when Hades appeared. He was tall, his skin pale as snow and his hair a jet black of bed-head. His eyes were a deep blue and his lips a taunt line that spoke volumes of the things he saw. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest and his slacks and suit jacket were so crisp the lines could cut.

"I don't mean to interrupt this little pow-wow that you three have going on but I figure it was time for us to get down to business."

Three heads jerked up at the sound of the deep voice echoing around the room. Harry instinctively laid a hand upon Dean's arm and Sam leaned back into his chair.

A meaty hand ran through the messy mop of hair, "I'm glad to finally be meeting the trio the Hermes has regaled us with plenty of stories around the campfires with."

"Delighted to meet you too," Dean just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I so very doubt that," Hades smiled at Dean, "But from what I understand you owe us one or maybe a handful."

Sam took the reigns and broke into the conversation, "Hermes didn't really tell us much about why you wanted us here. From what I can see in the news reports everything is under control. There haven't been any demonic outbreaks around here, or any kind of creature trying to do anything in this area."

Hades grinned and spread his hands out, "I keep my demons on a tight leash and others know I don't tolerate anything. If they do step out of line they head home with me and endure what lies below. It isn't a pleasant journey or place to live out eternity."

"Hermes said there was dissension in the ranks," Harry cut to the point not wanting to have to hear about the amenities of hell. "What did he mean by that if you keep your guys on a tight leash?"

Hades ground his teeth together and cracked his knuckles before he answered. "A few demons thought they would challenge what I have in place here. Taking souls is a delicate business. When someone decides they don't want to guide the soul to the underworld, a problem arises. Balance is the key to my work. Once it is set off kilter things start going unbelievably wrong."

"But I thought Charon guided the souls into the underworld. What do demons have to do with any of this?" Sam propped his head on his chin as he waited for Hades to explain.

"I let very few out of my realm, you have to understand that." Hades licked his lips as if he was preparing for a lengthy explanation. "I don't like not being able to see those who work for me. I don't want them getting any ideas of how they think things should be run. So the few who do get out and topside, they have caused quite a commotion with the demons who guard the path Charon takes."

Dean quirked a brow, curious at the thought that there would actually be a need for demons to guard Charon's path, "You need guards?"

"I've had a few souls try to jump the boat on it's way back up. Once you're in Hell you're there for keeps." Hades looked pointedly towards Dean, "Usually."

"Okay we understand that part. What we need is a little more clarification on who we are dealing with." Harry let his fingers tighten on Dean's leg to stop him from doing something incredibly stupid around Hades. They didn't need more trouble then the trouble they were currently getting involved with.

"As I was saying a few moments ago, the demons who are allowed to roam topside, hunting for the souls that should already be in my realm, are causing difficulties among the guards. They aren't showing up, they are trying to find a way out and the ones who go topside are encouraging them to go. I can not have that. Everything has a way of working. Every gear must be oiled and functioning for the entire machine to work. One wayward demon is all it takes for the entire balance I strive for to go out of whack. What I have is at least a handful of unruly demons who think they can do as they please."

"So what we're looking for," Dean tried to sum things up in a nutshell for the hunters' sake, "Is a few demons that are causing trouble around Seattle and kill them because they are messing with the way you do your business?"

"You act as if these are demons you deal with on a regular basis Dean," Hades smug grin told them all they needed to know about what they were about to start dealing with. There was nothing normal about this. "These demons have been around almost as long as I have. The power they hold has changed them. The amount of time they have lived in the underworld has morphed them from human to monster. They don't appear to be human, they don't sound human and they don't smell human. They are monsters worse then you have ever encountered."

Harry ignored the chill that set in his chest and met the icy gaze across the room from him, "So when do we start."

Hades snapped his fingers and a set of books appeared on the table in front of Sam, "You start now. I suggest one of you read or at least scan over what I have provided for you. This books don't leave my library ever. It will tell you what you need to know about my not so friendly employees."

"And everything we do is going to be topside," Sam asked with a cold voice, "The risks of not returning, well I would rather not stop to actually think about that."

"Everything I need of you three will be done on soil," Hades placated them, "I can't afford to have two Winchesters and a Potter in hell with me. That would cause far too much distress amongst the residents and you would most likely be torn to bits at the first chance they got."

"Right, well we'll just get right on this," Dean stood up as if to dismiss Hades from the room.

"Oh," Hades turned with a finger in the air, "One more thing. The longer you take with this the less happy I will be."

They didn't get much of an elaboration on what Hades meant by that. Instead he just disappeared from the room and into thin air. Sam stood from the table and gathered his coat. "I'm going to get some food and coffee."

Dean grimaced as he took in the texts Hades left them and the way Harry was already pulling his laptop out to start his own branch of research now they had a better focus. "Get more than coffee. I have a feeling that tonight is going to be a long night."

Harry huffed out a chuckle as Sam slammed the door shut and he looked over towards Dean, "More than a long night."

"Can we just go home?" Dean asked pathetically and Harry leaned over the table to press a heavy kiss to Dean's lips. As he pulled away he licked the taste of Dean away, "As soon as we're finished we're going home and finding wards to keep Hermes out of our house."


End file.
